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Materials

Periodic Graphics

Periodic Graphics: Making fabrics fire resistant

Chemical educator and Compound Interest blogger Andy Brunning illuminates the chemistry of flame retardants and how they protect fabrics

by Andy Brunning, special to C&EN
May 26, 2025 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 103, Issue 14
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Test your knowledge of flame retardants with our quiz

To download a PDF of this article, visit cenm.ag/flame-retardants.

References used to create this graphic:

Al-Mosawi, Ali. “Flame Retardants, Their Beginning, Types, and Environmental Impact: A Review.” J. Silicate-Based Compos. Mater. (July 2020). DOI: 10.14382/epitoanyag-jsbcm.2022.01.

Ali, Tooba, Muhammad Najam-ul-Haq, Abrar Mohyuddin, Syed Ghulam Musharraf, and Dilshad Hussain. “Next-Generation Functional Nanotextiles—Prospects and Challenges.” Sustainable Mater. Technol. (July 2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.susmat.2023.e00640.

Lazar, Simone T., Thomas J. Kolibaba, and Jaime C. Grunlan. “Flame-Retardant Surface Treatments.” Nat. Rev. Mater. (Jan. 2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41578-019-0164-6.

Morgan, Alexander B., and Martin Klatt. “Nitrogen‐Based Flame Retardants,” in Non‐Halogenated Flame Retardant Handbook, 2nd ed., edited by Alexander B. Morgan (Scrivener, 2021). DOI: 10.1002/9781119752240.ch5.

Özer, Merve S., and Sabyasachi Gaan. “Recent Developments in Phosphorus Based Flame Retardant Coatings for Textiles: Synthesis, Applications and Performance.” Prog. Org. Coat. (Oct. 2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.porgcoat.2022.107027.

To see more of Brunning’s work, go to compoundchem.com. To see all of C&EN’s Periodic Graphics, visit cenm.ag/periodicgraphics.

 

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