IntroductionThe history of polymers goes back millions of years. These “primitive” polymers were created by nature to meet the needs of information storage, energy storage and information reproduction. Man-made polymers are a more recent invention, dating back about two hundred years. These polymers generally consist of highly flammable hydrocarbons and their derivatives. Fires caused by both human negligence and the physical properties of the oil have caused millions of dollars in property damage and cost countless lives. It is this fact that has led scientists to devote time and resources to making polymers safer. In the following paragraphs, the mechanism behind polymer combustion will be discussed, as well as the techniques used to slow the rate of fire and/or extinguish it completely. A section will also be devoted to a review of current research, over the last five years, on improving the flame retardancy of polymers. The combustion of a polymer can be classified as an exothermic oxidation reaction. The reaction starts when the polymer is heated to its initiation temperature or when the chemical bonds begin to cleave. As a result, the polymer begins to emit volatile (reducing) gases, which mix with atmospheric oxygen (oxidant). When this fuel mixture reaches its autoignition temperature or is exposed to an external energy source, it undergoes combustion or an oxidation reaction. Whose products are water, carbon dioxide and heat. Although most of the heat will be radiated to the environment, some will be used to initiate further decomposition of the polymer. The used oxygen is replenished via the convection current generator......middle of the paper structure......ed. For this series of experiments, the group modified the synthesis method, replacing the small-molecule surfactant with a cationic copolymer (PVAc). They did this so they could control the morphology of the resulting polymer complex. Following this change, the physical properties of polymers including this copolymer were studied. They found that for the EVA-0 and EVA-NC0 control groups, Young's modulus and tensile strength increased and toughness decreased compared to the value of unmodified EVA. The toughness rebounded when clay was added. This is contrary to what is expected, because the copolymer is more amorphous than EVA. If the trend were followed, Young's modulus and tensile strength should decrease while toughness increases. The authors attribute this opposite trend to the fact that the copolymer has Tg than EVA.