Towards Bio-based Flame Retardant Polymers

Sustainable development has become a great concern in modern society. The authors of this brief describe how one strategy to reach this objective is to replace oil-based materials with bio-based materials. They emphasize the great efforts that have been made to synthesize new bio-based polymers or additives or to replace glass fibers by natural fibers in composites. Flame retardancy is one of the most desired properties for many applications in wires and cables, building, transport, electric and electronic devices. The authors of this fascinating and timely brief summarize this important field in three parts. The flame retardancy of biobased polymers, the flame retardancy of natural fibers composites, and the synthesis and efficiency of biobased flame retardants.

Rodolphe Sonnier
Born in France in 1979, he obtained a Master degree (engineer) from ENSAIT (first school of textile engineer in France) and a PhD in material chemistry from Montpellier University in 2006 (supervisors: J-M. Lopez-Cuesta and A. Bergeret at the Ecole des Mines d’Alès). After a postdoctoral fellowship in Lyon (INSA, Laboratoire des Matériaux Macromoléculaires) supervised by Pr. Ph. Cassagnau and Dr. V. Massardier from 2006 to 2008, he became research engineer and then associate professor in the Materials Center in Ecole des Mines d’Alès from 2008 up to now. His main research field is the flame retardancy of polymers and composites. He works also on the characterization of polymer blends and the effect of ionizing radiations on polymers.He supervised (as co-supervisor) 7 PhD including three current ones. He reviewed in several journals (Polymer Degradation and Stability, Journal of Applied Polymer Science) and he has been guest editor of special issues in Materials. Scopus values: 49 publications, 218 citations by 162 documents, h-index: 8
José-Marie Lopez-CuestaBorn in Paris and 57 years old, he is engineer and PhD in applied physical chemistry (1985) of the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (France). Full professor at Ecole des Mines d’Alès (EMA) since 2007, he works since 1990 on particulate polymer composites (micro and nanocomposites) and he is the head of the research centre of materials in EMA (C2MA) since 2009 (82 people including 30 researchers and lecturers as permanent staff). He works mainly in the areas of physical chemistry of interfaces, durability of composites, and particularly on thermal degradation, fire reaction and behavior of polymer blends containing micro- and nanocomposites. He is co-author of around 120 articles in international journals and has supervised around 30 PhD works. He is the secretary ofa thematic group of the Société Chimique de France (SCF) about the thermal degradation and fire behavior of organic materials. He is member of the scientific committee of various international conferences (FRPM, Eurofillers, ISFRMT, BiPoCo). He was recently the co-chairman of the international conference Eurofillers Polymer Blends 2015 in Montpellier (France).Scopus values: 116 articles, 2033 citations, h-index 24
Laurent FERRY
Born in France 1967, he obtained a Master degree (engineer) in Materials Science from INSA Lyon in 1990 and a PhD in Materials Science from INSA Lyon in 1996. In 1998, he got a permanent position at Ecole des Mines d’Alès in the Materials Center. He became full professor in 2013. Since 2009 he is leader of the group working on flame retardancy of polymers.His main expertise is in the field of fire behavior of polymers. This has led him to investigate different kinds of flame retardants such as micro and nano-sized mineral particles, phosphorous compounds and more recently bio-based products. He has also worked on polymer and composites ageing.
He has supervised 20 PhD (4 still in progress) and 4 Masters. Scopus values: 55 publications, 7 book chapters, 554 citations, h-index:14He has been guest editor of special issues in Materials and Polymer Degradation and Stability


Aurélie TAGUET
Born in France in 1978, she obtained a Master degree (engineer) in Material Science  (Phelma,  INP Grenoble) in 2002 and a PhD in material chemistry – IAM, Gerhardt Institut, ENSCMontpellier ( PhD supervisor: B. Ameduri) in 2005. After a postdoctoral fellowship in Montréal (Ecole Polytechnique, chemistry department) supervised by Pr. Basil Favis from 2006 to 2008, she became research engineer and then associate professor in the Materials Center in Ecoledes Mines d’Alès from 2008 up to now. She works on the effect of the morphology on the final properties (mechanical, thermal and fire) of composites, biocomposites and nanocomposites. She supervised (as co-supervisor) 5 PhD including a current one. She reviewed 11 articles in several journals. 
Scopus values: 20 publications, 203 citations by 177 documents, h-index:8