Preparation and characterization of urea-formaldehyde resin]reactive kaolinite composites

• Published in: Particuology 2016-02, Vol.24 (1), p.203-209
• Main Authors: Chen, Shiwei, Lu, Xuchen, Wang, Tizhuang, Zhang, Zhimin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Composites; Kaolinite; Morphology; Particulate composites; Polymer matrix composites; Polymerization; Polymers; Reactive kaolinite; Resins; Thermal properties; Thermal property; Urea-formaldehyde resin; X-rays; 产品设计; 工业通用技术; 粉末技术; 颗粒学
• ISSN: 1674-2001; 2210-4291
• DOI: 10.1016/j.partic.2015.05.007

Novel urea-formaldehyde resin/reactive kaolinite composites containing 20-40wt%; kaolinite were prepared by in situ polymerization. The kaolinite was modified with tetraethoxysilane and a silane coupling agent to introduce reactive groups. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction confirmed preparation of the urea-formaldehyde resin/reactive kaolinite composites. The composite morphology was investigated using scanning electron microscopy; the composites consisted of uni- form spherical particles. The surface chemical components of the composites were determined using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The spectra showed that the reactive kaolinite was encapsulated by the urea-formaldehyde resin. The thermal properties of the composites were examined using dif- ferential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. The results showed that their thermal stability was much better than that of pure urea-formaldehyde resin, Reactive kaolinite addition greatly decreased formaldehyde emissions and improved the water resistance of the composites. A mechanism for urea-formaldehyde resin/reactive kaolinite composite synthesis is proposed.