AbstractA novel flame retardant, tetra(5,5‐dimethyl‐1,3‐ dioxaphosphorinanyl‐2‐oxy) neopentane (DOPNP), was synthesized successfully, and its structure was characterized by FT‐IR, 1H NMR, and 31P NMR. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results demonstrate that DOPNP showed a good char‐forming ability. Its initial decomposition temperature was 236.4°C based on 1% mass loss, and its char residue was 41.2 wt % at 600°C, and 22.9 wt % at 800°C, respectively. The flame retardancy and thermal degradation behavior of novel intumescent flame‐retardant polypropylene (IFR‐PP) composites containing DOPNP were investigated using limiting oxygen index (LOI), UL‐94 test, TGA, cone calorimeter (CONE) test, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results demonstrate that DOPNP effectively raised LOI value of IFR‐PP. When the loading of IFR was 30 wt %, LOI of IFR‐PP reached 31.3%, and it passed UL‐94 V‐0. TGA results show that DOPNP made the thermal decomposition of IFR‐PP take place in advance; reduced the thermal decomposition rate and raised the residual char amount. CONE results show that DOPNP could effectively decrease the heat release rate peak of IFR‐PP. A continuous and compact char layer observed from the SEM further proved the flame retardance. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011.