Polymer Nanocomposites: Flammability

Flame retardation of materials has become a very important issue of concern to researchers and producers. Recently, it has been found that the nano fillers are ecologically friendly and having a high aspect ratio, their dispersion in the polymer matrix leads to significant improvements of many properties. From the point of view of flame retardancy, the nano fillers are able even in small amounts to significantly decrease important flammability characteristics such as heat release rate and increase the oxygen index. This paper covers some recent contributions and progresses to the flammability characteristics of different groups of polymer nanocomposites such as: thermoplastics, thermosettings, elastomers, thermoplastic elastomers and polyblends.