Formulating flame-retardant (FR) thermoplastic compounds is a complex task of balancing performance and regulatory requirements, made even more challenging in the past year by supply-chain disruptions.

In particular, according to experts at AMI’s Fire Retardants in Plastics North America (Pittsburgh, April 2025), antimony trioxide (ATO), which is used as a synergist in many brominated FR formulations, experienced extremely high prices due to shortages that resulted from China’s export ban on antimony as well as high demand for antimony from markets such as solar.

Jennifer Markian reports. Read the full article