Employees of the Institute of Chemistry of Kazan Federal University and the Kazan National Research Technical University have produced especially strong carbon plastics based on phosphate binders that can withstand temperatures of more than 500 degrees Celsius. The findings are published in the journal Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing. "Composite materials are used very widely today: almost everything is made of them, starting from hockey sticks and ending with airplanes. The vast majority of composites are created using organic polymer binders, which have many positive features, but have two significant drawbacks: they are flammable and work up to temperatures of 300–450 degrees Celsius maximum. "At the same time, the use of composites, for example, in aviation or astronautics, and in many 'earthly' areas, requires non-combustible materials capable of withstanding high (over 500 degrees Celsius) temperatures. We have solved this difficult problem by using inorganic binders," says Rustem Amirov, Chair of the Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Lead Research Associate of the Laboratory of Polymer Smart Materials and Nanocomposites of the Institute of Chemistry. The scientists created a technology for obtaining carbon plastics based on aluminophosphate, aluminoborphosphate and aluminochrome phosphate binders reinforced with carbon fabric. ....