In modern society where fires are frequent, flame retardants, as an important chemical additive, have fireproof properties and application value that cannot be ignored. The main components of flame retardants include nitrogen, phosphorus, halogens, etc. These elements can effectively reduce the incidence of fires and protect people's lives and property when fires occur. This article will introduce the types, characteristics and applications of flame retardants in detail, and take you to appreciate the magical charm of this chemical field.

Types and characteristics of flame retardants

Flame retardants can be divided into two categories according to their mechanism of action: reactive flame retardants and additive flame retardants. Reactive flame retardants participate in polymerization reactions as a monomer, making the polymer itself contain flame retardant ingredients. The advantage of this type of flame retardant is that it has little effect on the performance of polymer materials and has long-lasting flame retardancy. Additive flame retardants are flame retardants added to polymer materials to achieve flame retardant effects through physical or chemical effects.

Organic flame retardants

Organic flame retardants are represented by bromine, phosphorus-nitrogen, nitrogen, red phosphorus and compounds. These flame retardants can quickly decompose to produce flame-retardant gases when a fire occurs, reducing the combustion rate and thus achieving a flame retardant effect. Among them, bromine flame retardants have the advantages of high flame retardant efficiency and small addition amount, but may produce toxic gases; phosphorus-nitrogen flame retardants have the characteristics of low smoke, low toxicity, high flame retardant efficiency, etc., and are one of the most widely used flame retardants at present.

Inorganic flame retardants

Inorganic flame retardants mainly include antimony trioxide, magnesium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, silicon and other flame retardant systems. These flame retardants can absorb a lot of heat when a fire occurs, reduce the combustion temperature, and produce flame retardant gases such as water vapor, thereby achieving a flame retardant effect. Inorganic flame retardants have the advantages of being non-toxic, harmless and environmentally friendly, but their flame retardant efficiency is relatively low.

Application and development of flame retardants

Flame retardants are widely used in plastics, rubber, textiles, cables, coatings and other fields. In the plastics industry, flame retardants can improve the fire resistance of plastic products and reduce the risk of fire; in the cable industry, flame retardants can protect cables from being burned in fires and ensure the reliability of power supply. As people's requirements for fire safety continue to increase, the application areas of flame retardants are also expanding.

In the development of flame retardants, new flame retardants such as modified sorbitol flame retardants and polyol flame retardants have gradually emerged. Modified sorbitol flame retardants are mainly composed of sorbitol esters, sorbitol esters and their chlorides, and have excellent flame retardant and environmental performance. Polyol flame retardants are mainly composed of melamine, polyvinyl chloride, ethylene oxide, lauryl propionate and dimethyl silane, which can effectively suppress fire sources and reduce the incidence of fire.

As an emerging flame retardant system, non-halogen flame retardants are gradually attracting people's attention. As one of the representatives of non-halogen flame retardants, red phosphorus has the advantages of small addition amount, high flame retardant efficiency, low smoke, low toxicity, and wide application. Red phosphorus is compounded with inorganic flame retardants such as aluminum hydroxide and expanded graphite to produce composite non-halogen flame retardants such as phosphorus/magnesium, phosphorus/aluminum, and phosphorus/graphite, which greatly reduces the use of flame retardants and improves the processing performance and physical and mechanical properties of plastic products.

As an important chemical additive, flame retardant plays an important role in protecting people's lives and property. With the continuous advancement of science and technology and the continuous improvement of people's requirements for fire safety, the application field and development prospects of flame retardants will be broader.