Plastics are widely used in modern life because they are lightweight, durable and easy to process. However, many polymer materials can burn rapidly and release large amounts of heat and smoke during fires. Developing safer polymers without sacrificing their useful properties remains an important challenge.
In a new study published in Advanced Nanocomposites , researchers reviewed and analyzed how ZIF-67, a porous metal-organic framework material, can be combined with different flame-retardant systems to improve polymer fire safety.
“ZIF-67 provides a unique platform because its porous structure, adjustable chemistry and cobalt-based active sites allow it to work together with different flame-retardant components,” explains corresponding author Ye-Tang Pan. “ By combining ZIF-67 with phosphorus-based, clay-based and carbon-based flame retardants, we can create synergistic systems that provide improved protection against heat, flames and smoke.”
The team’s findings underscroed ZIF-67’s value in fire protection. “Its porous structure can help improve the dispersion of flame-retardant components in polymer matrices, while cobalt-containing sites can promote the formation of protective carbon layers during combustion. These effects can slow heat transfer, reduce the release of combustible products and suppress smoke generation,” shares Pan.
The researchers also summarized different preparation strategies, including direct mixing, in-situ growth, etching and conversion into carbon-based derivatives. “These approaches provide opportunities for designing multifunctional polymer materials with improved fire safety and additional functions such as electromagnetic protection and thermal management,” Pan adds.
The researchers noted that future research should focus on scalable preparation methods, understanding structural evolution during combustion and developing intelligent fire-resistant materials for practical applications.
###
Contact author details:
Ye-Tang Pan: pyt@bit.edu.cn
National Engineering Research Center of Flame Retardant Materials, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
The publisher KeAi was established by Elsevier and China Science Publishing & Media Ltd to unfold quality research globally. In 2013, our focus shifted to open access publishing. We now proudly publish more than 300 world-class, open access, English language journals, spanning all scientific disciplines. Many of these are titles we publish in partnership with prestigious societies and academic institutions, such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).
Advanced Nanocomposites
Experimental study
Not applicable
ZIF-67-driven synergistic strategies for high-performance flame retardant polymer nanocomposites
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.