Alumina trihydrate (or ATH) is one of the most common commercial flame-retardant compounds on the market. When heated to about 350 degrees F, Al(OH)3 decomposes into Al2OH3·3H2O, absorbing a lot of heat energy and releasing water vapor. Both of these processes naturally tend to slow the generation and spread of flames.I have to admit, I don't really find this very interesting, but I spent 2-3 hours today wrestling with the distinctions between alumina trihydrate, aluminum hydrate, and aluminum hydroxide (all of which are basically different names for the same thing in different contexts), and by the time I was done I had definitely learned something.
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