Reactive Fire-Retardant Nanocoatings for Steel Structures

Modern construction is characterized by an increasing use of steel structural members. This is due to their strength, durability, and their capability to ensure rapid structure assembly. One of the key requirements for such structures is ensuring an adequate level of fire safety, which is achieved through the application of reactive coatings. The most effective means in this regard are intumescent coatings, which form a thermal insulation layer at high temperatures. Such a layer preserves the load-bearing capacity of structures through thermal insulation. Recently, significant attention has been given to improving the properties of intumescent systems and enhancing their fire-retardant efficiency. A promising direction is the use of nanotechnology, which enables the creation of environmentally friendly, fire-resistant, and durable fire-retardant coatings. Fire-retardant coatings that contain nanomaterials are called nanocoatings. Among the most common and multifunctional nanofillers used in reactive coatings are layered nanoclays, LDH compounds, nanostructured carbon forms, silicon and metal nano-oxides. Nanomaterials play a key role in enhancing the fire-retardant properties of intumescent systems by participating in both chemical and physical fire protection mechanisms. An interesting research direction is the development of environmentally safe nanofillers, particularly the bio-based ones, which opens up opportunities for creating new materials with improved performance characteristics. Given these factors, nanomaterials continue to be a promising direction for the advancement of fire-retardant coatings.