Flame-retardant coatings for wooden structures

Wood remained an integral part of building structures across the globe. Concerns have nonetheless arisen about wood having inherent high flammability and threatening the fire safety of buildings and inhabitants, leading to the need for enhancement of flame resistivity. The use of flame-retardants that possessed ease of application and cost-effectiveness to mitigate the threat of flammable wood is compelling in current development. Among the diversity of methods, the flame-retardant coating applied on wood offers advanced fire protection. This review aims to provide significant insights into the evaluation methods and regulations followed globally, serving as a guideline for evaluating the flame retardancy of wood structures in building construction. A comprehensive discussion is performed on the mechanisms of various elements to impart the flame retardancy of the polymeric coating. In addition to these traditional flame retardants , the review emphasises the growing interest in bio-based materials as sustainable alternatives. Bio-based flame retardants offer numerous environmental benefits and demonstrate promising flame-retardant properties through various mechanisms. An understanding of the current advancements in flame retardant polymeric coatings for wood is provided, highlighting the potential of bio-based materials in creating more sustainable and effective fire protection solutions.