The Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Friendly and Fire-Safety Polymeric Materials, National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
Organic polymeric materials, classified as one of the three major types of materials together with metal materials and inorganic non-metallic materials, are widely used in various fields of national economy and national defense construction. However, due to their organic chemical structure, most polymer materials are flammable and easily ignited, leading to fire accidents and jeopardizing people’s lives, health and property safety. Evaluation of flameretardant polymeric materials is mostly focused on whether it is difficult to ignite, easy to self-extinguish, etc., however, once ignited, the materials-heat release will directly determine whether it is easy to develop into a tragic fire disaster. Reducing the heat release of polymer materials during combustion can delay the time for the material to reach ignition, and provide more time for personnel escape. Here, this review focuses on the flame-retardant methods to reduce the heat release of polymeric materials, including “all-in-one”intumescent char-forming, organic/inorganic nanocomposites blocked layer, phosphorus based flame retardant and high-temperature char-forming based on self-crosslinking/rearrangement, and further in-depth discusses the challenges and the development trend of these methods in the future.