Studies on the effect of curing agent concentration and type of phenol on various physico‐chemical properties of resole and epoxy blends

Abstract

Resoles were prepared with different phenols, separately, with formaldehyde having phenol-to-formaldehyde molar ratio of 1 : 2 in basic medium at 708C. These resoles were physically blended with different weight percentages of diglycidyl ether bisphenol-A (DGEBA)-epoxy resin. The blends were cured with 40, 50, and 60 wt % polyamide based on the total weight of the blend resin at 1008C. It was found that the blend system containing equal weight ratio of resole, prepared from p-cresol, and epoxy resins showed the least cure time with 40 wt % polyamide among all other blend systems. Also, the cured films of such blend systems showed the best chemical resistance, thermal stability, and hardness as compared to their other blend systems and blend counterparts.