ABSTRACT
For many plastic materials, the most feasible method of improving their fire performance is the incorporation of commercially available retardants. Retardants are generally recommended by manufacturers and distributors for use with those plastics with which they are expected to be effective in improving fire performance without excessive loss of other important performance characteristics. Additive flame-retardant systems are generally composed of both organic and inorganic materials acting synergistically to provide an optimum balance of flame retardancy, physical properties and cost. An important feature of phosphorus flame retardants is their unique ability to extinguish the incomplete combustion reactions of the carbonized residues of polymeric materials. One interesting class of phosphorus-containing polymer flame retardants is represented by phosphazenes. The other well known metallic polymer flame retardants are magnesium hydroxide and alumina trihydrate. Alumina trihydrate is an extremely important fire retardant for use in plastics.
