In February 2026, the polymer material flame retardant field ushered in new explorations, with the ionic aggregation-based bulk copolymerization flame retardant method becoming a research focus. Breaking away from the traditional phosphorus-based flame retardant approach, this technology achieves anti-dripping effects through rheological control, providing a new path for flame retardancy of thermoplastic plastics. By grafting ionic groups such as sulfonate and carboxylate onto polymer molecular chains to form ionic clusters with metal ions as physical cross-linking points, the technology increases melt viscosity at high temperatures and restricts molecular chain slip, fundamentally reducing secondary fires caused by dripping. Application tests of sulfonated polystyrene, PET ionomers and Surlyn-based copolymers have all shown excellent anti-dripping performance. Among them, PET ionomers combined with phosphorus-based flame retardants can reach the UL94 V0 grade, and Surlyn series is also expected to replace PTFE as a halogen-free anti-dripping agent. However, the technology still has inherent shortcomings: ionic cross-linking is prone to dissociation at high temperatures leading to a sharp drop in viscosity, and the hydrophilicity of ionic groups also increases processing and storage difficulties. At present, it is mostly used as a synergist with traditional flame retardants, and its metal ions can also catalyze the formation of dense carbon layers to improve the overall flame retardant effect. For more information, please click: https://www.tiktok.com/@mia_iota/video/7597717976720149782