Their pervasive use in industrial applications renders the development of environmentally benign flame-retardant epoxy (EP) thermosets a timely and important goal. The last two decades have witnessed the rise of phosphorus (P)-containing flame retardants for EP due to their high flame retardancy efficiency, low toxicity, multiple modes of action, molecular diversity and other favorable properties. P-containing flame retardants are classified into two types: reactive and additive, according to whether they participate in the curing process. Recent advances in both of these classes of P-containing flame retardants motivate this comprehensive review on the design and synthesis of P-containing flame retardants and their impact on the material properties of EP thermosets. This review focuses on the state-of-the-art knowledge of P-containing flame retardants and their effects on flame retardancy, thermal stability and mechanical properties of the resultant EP. First, representative flame-retardant mechanisms are reviewed. Subsequently, practical applications of P-containing flame-retardant EP thermosets are presented. Finally, the key challenges associated with P-containing flame retardants for EP thermosets are highlighted, and opportunities for future research in the field are proposed.

它们在工业应用中的广泛使用使开发对环境无害的阻燃环氧（EP）热固性塑料成为及时而重要的目标。在过去的二十年中，由于含磷（P）的阻燃剂效率高，毒性低，作用方式多样，分子多样性和其他有利特性，使得含磷（P）阻燃剂的兴起。含磷阻燃剂根据其是否参与固化过程分为两类：反应型和添加剂。这两类含P阻燃剂的最新进展促使人们对含P阻燃剂的设计和合成及其对EP热固性材料性能的影响进行了全面的综述。这篇综述集中在含磷阻燃剂的最新知识及其对所得EP的阻燃性，热稳定性和机械性能的影响。首先，回顾了代表性的阻燃机理。随后，介绍了含P的阻燃EP热固性塑料的实际应用。最后，突出了与用于EP热固性塑料的含P阻燃剂相关的关键挑战，并提出了该领域未来研究的机会。