Commercial Phosphorus-Containing Flame Retardants for Polymer Materials

For over 70 years, polymer materials have been gradually replacing traditionally used materials, and are constantly all around us in various forms: commodity products (packaging, textiles), technical polymers (composites, electronic materials) or specialty products (optical fibers). The massive use of polymeric materials in a wide range of applications is due to their diverse properties depending on their chemical structure, their ease of shaping and their relatively low production costs. However, despite their obvious qualities, plastic materials are highly flammable, which can have serious consequences in the event of fire, making every polymer material a combustible in the event of a fire. This potential fire risk is constantly increasing, particularly with the proliferation and miniaturization of electrical equipment. In France, more than 300,000 fires of various kinds were recorded in 2013, of which around 140,000 involved home and vehicle fires, resulting in 362 deaths and more than 1,500 medicalizations . There are also considerable material losses (around 25 billion euros for Europe) due to fires caused by the ignition of polymeric materials. Combating this phenomenon is therefore a public safety issue.

The addition of flame retardants (FRs) to these polymer materials reduces or slows down their flammability. There are many families of flame retardants, and these are adapted to the type of polymer and the type of end-use object. Phosphorus flame retardants (PFRs) are a family of flame retardants that are compatible with a large number of polymers and provide good flame-retardant properties. The aim of this article is therefore to detail the chemical nature of these phosphorus-containing flame retardants and to explain their modes of action.