Synthesis and thermomechanical property study of Novolac phenol-hydroxymethyl furfural (PHMF) resin

Abstract

Phenol-5-hydroxymethyl furfural resins were synthesized by reacting phenol with 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) generated in situ from glucose at 120 °C in the presence of CrCl₂/CrCl₃ and tetraethylammonium chloride (TEAC) catalysts. The phenol–HMF (PHMF) resin was found to have a relative weight average molecular weight of 700–900 g mol⁻¹. The resins have a structure similar to Novolac phenol–formaldehyde (PF) resin, suggesting that the PHMF resins synthesized using renewable resources may be a promising formaldehyde-free alternative to conventional Novolac PF resins. The PHMF resin was utilized as polymer matrix in fibreglass reinforced plastic (FRP) composites and demonstrated to have similar or better tensile strength than the FRP with conventional PF resin.