Polymeric materials significantly enhance the daily lives of all citizens of the developed world. For most applications these materials must be flame retardant. Organohalogen compounds, particularly brominated aryl ethers, are readily available at moderate cost, may be readily incorporated as additives into polymeric matrices, and are very effective gas-phase flame retardants. However, these are stable compounds which do not readily degrade in the natural environment. Further, they tend to bioaccumulate and may pose health hazards to the human population. For these reasons, effective alternatives are being sought. Organophosphorus compounds can serve as replacements for popular organohalogen flame retardants. Ideally, these compounds should be derived from non-toxic renewable biosources and should be degradable to innocuous products in the environment. A series of such compounds derived from esters of isosorbide (from starch) and 10-undecenoic acid (from castor oil) is being developed.

Phosphorus flame retardants from esters of isosorbide and 10-undecenoic acid

248th National Meeting (2014)

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