Abstract
Flame retardants are a crucial class of polymer additives used to reduce the safety and health risks associated with fires. However, the industrially used flame retardants, particularly halogen- and phosphorus-based ones, are increasingly associated with severe toxicity concerns. As a result, current research is moving away from these conventional flame retardants and focuses on alternative chemical elements with flame retardant properties and reduced toxicity. Among these, boron is particularly promising. However, there is an ongoing need to find more thermally stable organic boron compounds. This project aims to synthesize two classes of boron- and nitrogen-containing di- and trimer compounds as flame retardant candidates to increase the number of flame retardant moieties within a single molecule. These di- and trimer candidates will then undergo flame retardant tests to evaluate their performance both in pure form and when blended into polymer matrices, comparing their effectiveness to current industrial benchmarks. Subsequently, a selection of the top-performing flame retardants will be subjected to preliminary eco- and genotoxicity studies, and their recyclability from the polymer matrices will be assessed. The ultimate goal is to identify new and potent di- and trimer B,N-containing flame retardants that exhibit no toxicity.
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