Influence of epichlorohydrin content on structure and properties of high-ortho phenolic epoxy fibers

Preparation and properties of epoxy-modified thermosetting phenolic fiber

This article proposes the preparation and microwave thermal cured (MTC) epoxy-modified phenolic fibers for the first time. Epoxy-modified thermoplastic phenolic resin was first prepared in acidic condition using phenol, formaldehyde, and epichlorohydrin as the reactants, and then underwent additive reaction with formaldehyde to obtain epoxy-modified thermosetting phenolic resin, which was converted into nascent fibers through wet spinning. Finally, epoxy-modified phenolic fibers were obtained through different curing methods including solution cured, solution thermal cured, microwave cured, MTC, and was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, microscopic infrared imaging, nuclear magnetic resonance, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The experiment results show that MTC epoxy-modified phenolic fibers have optimal mechanical property with ultimate elongation of 4% and breaking strength of 133 MPa.

Preparation of Lignin-Based High-Ortho Thermoplastic Phenolic Resins and Fibers

Surplus lignin, which is inefficiently used, is generated in the forestry industry. Currently, most studies use lignin instead of phenol to synthesize thermosetting resins which cannot be reprocessed, thus affecting its application field. Thermoplastic phenolic resin has an orderly structure and excellent molding performance, which can greatly improve its application field and economic value. Herein, phenol was partially replaced with enzymolysis lignin (without treatment), generating lignin-based high-ortho thermoplastic phenolic resins (LPRs), and then lignin-based phenolic fibers (LPFs) were prepared by melt spinning. FTIR, 13C-NMR and GPC were used to characterize the ortho-para position ratio (O/P value), molecular weight and its distribution (PDI), and rheological properties of the resin. TG, XRD, SEM and tensile property studies were used to determine the thermal stability, orientation, and surface morphology of the fiber. Lignin addition resulted in the decline of the O/P value and molecular weight of the resin. For the 10% LPR, the O/P value, Mw, and PDI were 1.28, 4263, and 2.74, respectively, with the fiber exhibiting relatively good spinnability. The tensile strength and elongation at break of the 10% LPF were 160.9 MPa and 1.9%, respectively. The addition of lignin effectively improved the thermal properties of the fiber, and the carbon yields of 20% LPF before and after curing were 39.7% and 53.6%, respectively, which were 22.2% and 13.7% higher than that of the unmodified fiber, respectively.

Improving the thermal and mechanical properties of phenolic fiber over boron modified high-ortho phenolic resin

Boron-modified high-ortho phenolic resins (BPRs) were prepared under normal pressure by using phenol and formaldehyde as raw materials, zinc acetate, and oxalic acid as catalysts, and boric acid as a modifier. Boron-modified phenolic fibers (BPFs) were prepared by melt spinning and curing in a mixture of formaldehyde and hydrochloric acid, followed by a heat treatment under high temperature. The structure, ortho–para ratio (O/P), molecular weight and distribution, spinnability, thermal stability, fiber strength, and morphology of the resins were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and fiber strength testing. The results showed that the addition of boric acid reduced the ortho reaction of the synthetic resin and the O/P value of phenolic resin. When the content of boric acid was 3 wt%, the thermal stability was the best, the O/P value was up to 3.26, and the weight average molecular weight (Mw) was 18745 g/mol. In Compared with the unmodified resin, the mass loss was increased by 33.7%, and finally the carbon yield was 51.2%. The tensile strength of the fibers reached 187.2 MPa and the elongation at break was 10.5%. By introducing boron into the molecular chain, the structure of the resin was improved, and the thermal stability and mechanical properties of the fibers were improved.

Fabrication of a novel nontoxic trichlorophenol-epichlorohydrin-based compound with high antimicrobial activity and thermal stability

The aim of this study was to modify a discontinued, toxic antiseptic agent 2,4,5-trichlorophenol (TCP) by reacting it with epichlorohydrin (ECH) to obtain a nontoxic novel compound with similar antimicrobial effectiveness. A novel compound named {[1,3-bis(2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy) propan-2-yl] oxy}-3-(2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy) hexan-2-ol (TPTH) was synthesized from this reaction. Chemical and physical structures of the product were characterized by FTIR, MS, Uv-vis, NMR, SEM and TEM. The thermal stability of TPTH was evaluated by conducting thermogravimetric analysis. Biological interactions of the compound were investigated by performing antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity assays. The compound displayed a good antimicrobial activity where minimum inhibitor concentrations were found to be 0.02, 0.08, and 0.15 µg mL^-1 against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) respectively. Additionally, well diffusion assay demonstrated that, the zone of inhibitions for S. aureus, MRSA and E. coli were 24 mm, 22 mm and 18 mm, respectively. Cytotoxicity assay results revealed that TPTH is nontoxic against cells at effective anti-microbial concentrations. TPTH shows thermal stability up to 220 °C. Results here demonstrate the successful conversion of toxic TCP to a nontoxic form; TPTH with a good anti-microbial activity and thermal stability.