Sustainable Flame-Retardant Polymeric Materials

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to contribute as an author to this Special Issue, which aims to gather the latest advancements in fire retardancy research of polymers and polymer-based materials where sustainable approaches have to be highlighted. Due to their versatility, polymers and polymer-based composites have become indispensable in many economic sectors in modern society. However, in some fields, such as construction, transportation, and electronics, the use of polymeric materials is restricted due to their inherent flammability and low thermal stability. Fire protection technology offers a variety of fire-retardant additives and treatments to reduce the risk of fires and improve dimensional stability. Efficiency, applicability, and cost are parameters normally considered in fire retardant selection, but increasingly demanding ecological requirements have stimulated researchers and manufacturers to design sustainable fire retardant systems without a toxic footprint. The research topics related to sustainable solutions in fire-retardant plastic design typically include using fossil-free sources in both plastic manufacturing and fire retardants, using bio-based materials, and employing multifunctional nano-sized additives. An essential aspect of sustainability is the recycling of materials and converting waste- and side-streams into value-added products.

This Special Issue offers an opportunity to publish an original research paper or review article summarizing the latest achievements in this field. The topics for articles include but are not limited to the following:

• Development of eco-friendly fire retardant polymeric materials (bulk, coatings, foams, textiles, aerogels, insulating materials, etc.);
• Bio-based fire retardants;
• Fire retardancy mechanisms and synergistic phenomena in fire retardancy;
• Fire risk testing procedures and fire retardancy class estimation/prediction;
• Multifunctionality of nanomaterials in fire retardancy.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Irina Turku
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fire is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• fire retardancy
• polymer
• sustainable
• bio-based
• functional nanomaterial
• fire retardancy mechanism