NOVEL POLYMERIC, NON-HALOGENATED FLAME RETARDANTS WITH BROAD APPLICABILITY IN MULTIPLE INDUSTRIES

摘要

Flame retardancy is a legal requirement for many plastics used in electrical equipment and consumer electronics, building and construction, fiber/textile, and transportation applications globally. Flame retardant (FR) materials inhibit ignition, slow the spread of fire or protect critical infrastructure during a fire event and reduce smoke or toxic fume production. Fire deaths are estimated to claim the lives of ten to twenty people per million population in developed countries per year and about seventy to eighty percent of all civilian fire injuries occur as a result of fires in residential buildings. Many injuries can result from fleeing or battling fires. Recent numbers by the National Institute of Standards and Technology showed that homeowners now have 3 minutes to get out of a house on fire compared to 17 minutes in the 1970s because of the presence of more synthetic materials such as plastics. Since plastics are based on oil or other hydrocarbons, they burn, and consequently, the increase in the use of plastics has dramatically increased the fuel content in buildings. As much as 1% of a country’s GDP can be lost to fire each year.