A new strategy for the synthesis of modified novolac resin and its polymer/clay nanocomposite

• Published in: Express polymer letters 2019-06, Vol.13 (6), p.543-552
• Main Authors: Mohammad-Rezaei, R., Massoumi, B., Eskandani, M., Abbasian, M., Jaymand, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alcohol; Carbon; Chemical industry; Chlorine; Clay; Composite materials; Curing; Epichlorohydrin; Epoxidized novolac; Epoxidized polystyrene; Ethylenediamine; Hydroxyl groups; Nanocomposites; Nanoparticles; Oxidation; Phenols; Polymerization; Polymers; Polystyrene resins; Resins; Sodium; Substitution reactions; Synergistic effect; Thermal stability; Thermodynamic properties; X ray powder diffraction; X-ray diffraction
• ISSN: 1788-618X; 1788-618X
• DOI: 10.3144/expresspolymlett.2019.46

A novel epoxy nanocomposite composed of epoxidized novolac (ENR), epoxidized polystyrene (EPSt), and nanoclay was fabricated and characterized successfully. For this purpose, the novolac was epoxylated using a substitution nucleophilic reaction between hydroxyl group of novolac and chlorine group of epichlorohydrin. The EPSt was synthesized through the oxidizing of an allylated PSt (All-PSt). A mixture of ENR (70 wt%), EPSt (20 wt%) and Cloisite® 20A (5 wt%) was cured using ethylenediamine (EDA; 5 wt%) to afford a C-ENR-EPSt/clay nanocomposite. The transition electron microscopy (TEM) as well as powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the fabricated nanocomposite has an exfoliated structure. As the thermal property studies results, the addition of EPSt as well as Cloisite® 20A has synergistic effect on the thermal stability of the ENR resin.