Enhancement of phenolic polymer properties by use of ethylene glycol as diluent

One application of phenolic.resins is for the inner lining of multilayered composites in fire critical applications. Typically such resins contain water as a diluent to facilitate injection and mold filling. Although water is effective in controlling the viscosity, its evaporation from the resin during cure has been found to cause microvoids in the cured resin that are 8-10 μm in size. These voids are believed to affect the properties of the final product. In addition to the initial water content, evolution of water also takes place as a result of cure. In this study, we investigated the effects of processing parameters such as cure temperature, postcure temperature, catalyst concentration, and the use of ethylene glycol as a replacement diluent on water loss, microvoid distribution, and consequently, the mechanical properties. Weight loss during cure was followed by using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to obtain images of cured resin showing the microvoids. The properties that have been obtained for comparison are density, flexural modulus and strength, and fracture toughness. It has been shown that modification of the resin by removing the initial water of a commercial resin system and adding ethylene glycol as a replacement has the most significant effect on the microvoids as well as the properties of the polymer. A decrease in void content and increase in density along with a significant improvement in flexural modulus and fracture toughness have been observed upon replacement of water with ethylene glycol. This is significant because of the importance of the phenolic layer to the overall mechanical performance of a hybrid composite.