Preparation and properties of phenolic resin laminates. I. Laboratory evaluation

Abstract

SynopsisThe preparation and properties of sodium carbonate and sodium hydroxide-catalyzed phenolic resins polymerized in 1-liter glass reactors over a broad range of F/P mole ratios are described.Laminates produced from selected sodium carbonate-catalyzed resins coated on kraft paper are discussed and compared with laminates prepared from standard sodium hydroxide-catalyzed resins. Several apparent advantages of the sodium carbonate-catalyzed resin systems over the sodium hydroxide-catalyzed resins are presented. The superior performance is attributed to the high degree of crosslinking resulting from the high concentration of methylolated phenols present in the sodium carbonate-catalyzed resin.