M.C. Lagel¹, A. Pizzi^1,2, S. Giovando³, A. Celzard⁴

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.3, pp. 220-229, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634113

Abstract With the depletion of fossil resources, tannin extracts can be a natural alternative to some synthetic products. Hydrolysable chestnut tannin extracts have been used to partially replace phenol in PF resins for phenolic rigid foams. Phenol-formaldehyde-chestnut tannin (PFT) phenolic foams were initially made from copolymerized PFT resins of different molar ratio. The PFT foams so prepared were tested for thermal conductivity, these being slightly worse than that of pure PF foams; and for mechanical and water absorption, these two properties being better than those of pure PF foams. Indeed, PF resins represent an important part of synthetic resins. They are… More >

Fei Song^1,2, Puyou Jia^1,*, Caiying Bo¹, Xiaoli Ren¹, Lihong Hu¹, Yonghong Zhou^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.5, pp. 535-547, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.09304

Abstract In this study, we prepared a series of tung oil phenolic foams (TPF) by a one-pot method. The FT-IR and 1 H NMR spectra confirm the successful FriedelCrafts grafting of phenol to the long-chain alkyl group in tung oil. Modified TPFs exhibit enhanced mechanical properties, including compressive and flexural strengths of up to 0.278 ± 0.036 MPa and 0.450 ± 0.017 MPa, respectively, which represent increases of 68.75% and 86.72% over those of pure phenolic foam (PF). SEM spectra reveal the TPF microstructure to have uniform hexagonal cell morphology, narrower cell size distribution, and smaller mean cell size, suggesting enhanced… More >

Yufeng Ma¹, Xuanang Gong¹, Puyou Jia^2,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.1, pp. 45-55, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.08621

Abstract In order to improve the comprehensive performance of phenolic foam, 9, 10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) was grafted with itaconic acid (ITA) (DOPO-g-ITA) to modify microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). DOPO-g-ITA modified MCC (DIMMCC) was used to prepare composite phenolic foam (DCPF). The structures of DIMMCC were verified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The microstructure and crystalline property were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) respectively. Compared with MCC, the crystallinity of DIMMCC was dramatically decreased, but the diffraction peak positions were unchanged. Thermal stability was decreased, and T_i decreased by 45.0°C. The residual carbon (600°C) was increased by 22.34%.… More >

Yufeng Ma¹, Xuanang Gong¹, Bing Xie¹, Xiang Geng¹, Puyou Jia^2,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.10, pp. 1037-1046, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07454

Abstract In order to improve the mechanical properties without reducing its flame retardancy of phenolic foams (PFs), 9, 10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) was introduced in the structure of cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) to improve its flame retardant, and the product of DOPO grafting CNSL (DOPO-g-CNSL) was obtained to modify phenolic resin, and to prepare DOPO-g-CNSL modified PFs (DCMPFs). The structures of DOPO-g-CNSL were verified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR). Compared with CNSL, thermal stability of DOPO-g-CNSL was decreased and Ti decreased by 3.53%, but the residual carbon (800°C) was increased by 35.05%. Compared with pure PF,… More >

Fei Song¹, Puyou Jia^1,*, Yanan Xiao², Caiying Bo¹, Lihong Hu¹, Yonghong Zhou^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.10, pp. 1011-1021, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.08044

Abstract Phenolic foams (PFs) as thermal insulation material with outstanding flame retardancy are required to match society’s ever expanding safety expectations; however, a trade off exists between flame retardancy and toughness. Here, for the first time, we synthesized a novel reactive phosphorus containing tung oil based derivative and used it to toughen PF, resulting in PFs with a combination of excellent mechanical properties and flame retardancy. Compared with pure PF, the modified PFs exhibit enhanced mechanical properties, with specific compressive and flexural strengths as high as 5.67 MPa and 12.46 MPa, which represent increases of 90.67% and 178.7% over those of… More >