New prospects in flame retardant polymer materials: From fundamentals to nanocomposites

The objective of this review is to make the field of flame retardants for polymer materials more accessible to the materials science community, i.e. chemists, physicists and engineers. We present the fundamentals of polymer combustion theory, the main flame retardant properties and tests used to describe fire behavior, together with the nature and modes of action of the most representative flame retardants and the synergistic effects that can be achieved by combining them. We particularly focus on polymer nanocomposites, i.e. polymer matrices filled with specific, finely dispersed nanofillers, which will undoubtedly pave the way for future materials combining physicochemical and thermo-mechanical performances with enhanced flame retardant behavior. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.