Effect of formaldehyde/phenol ratio (F/P) on the properties of phenolic resins and foams synthesized at room temperature

Six types of phenolic foaming resins were synthesized at room temperature with different formaldehyde/phenol (F/P) ratios in this study. The effects of F/P ratios on physicochemical characteristics and foaming properties of the resulting resins were analyzed based on viscosity, solids content, hydroxymethyl index, residual monomer content, molecular structure of the foaming resin, flame retardancy, and foam compression strength measurements. The results of the present study indicated that viscosity and solids content of the foaming resins increased with an increase in F/P; the hydroxymethyl index of the resin first increased and then decreased with an increase in F/P, reaching its maximum at F/P = 1.6; the trimer, tetramer, and pentamer contents of the resins increased with an increase in F/P. Nuclear magnetic resonance ( 13 C NMR) spectral analysis indicated that the presence of para / para -methylene, para -hydroxymethyl, and ortho -hydroxymethyl groups in the resin gradually increased with an increase in F/P; the proportions of ortho/ortho - and ortho / para -methylene bonds of the resin increased as F/P was increased. The increase in F/P was demonstrated to be conducive to improving the compression strength, thermal stability, and flame retardancy of the phenolic foam and reducing its peak heat release rate and total smoke release. The morphology of phenolic foams show that the closed cell content in the PF foam increases with the F/P ratio until it reaches a ratio of 1.6. Furthermore, the cell size becomes more uniform. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:1531–1540, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers