Resoles
Base-catalysed phenol-formaldehyde resins are made with a formaldehyde to phenol ratio of greater than one (usually around 1.5). These resins are called resoles. Phenol, formaldehyde, water and catalyst are mixed in the desired amount, depending on the resin to be formed, and are then heated. The first part of the reaction, at around 70 °C, forms a thick reddish-brown tacky material, which is rich in hydroxymethyl and benzylic ether groups.
The rate of the base-catalysed reaction initially increases with pH, and reaches a maximum at about pH = 10. The reactive species is the phenoxide anion (C6H5O-) formed by deprotonation of phenol. The negative charge is delocalised over the aromatic ring, activating sites 2, 4 and 6, which then react with the formaldehyde.
Being thermosets, hydroxymethyl phenols will crosslink on heating to around 120 °C to form methylene and methyl ether bridges through eliminating water molecules. At this point the resin is a 3-dimensional network, which is typical of polymerised phenolic resins. The high crosslinking gives this type of phenolic resin its hardness, good thermal stability, and chemical imperviousness. Resols are referred to as "one step" resins as they cure without a cross linker unlike novolacs, a "two step" resin.
Resoles are major polymeric resin materials widely used for gluing and bonding building materials. Exterior plywood, oriented strand boards (OSB), engineered laminated composite lumber (LCL) are typical applications.
Read more about this topic: Phenol Formaldehyde Resin