4. Halogen-containing flame retardants

4.1 Halogen comparison

As the dissociation energies of the C—C bonds in the hydrocarbon backbone of polymers are of the order of 347 kJ/mol, the efficiency of halogenated RFs increases in the order :

Despite its high theoretical efficiency, fluorine is not used as a flame retardant because its bond with carbon is too energetic. Its dissociation energy is around 485 kJ/mol. It would only begin to act in the gas phase, and thus to be effective, once all the organic material...