Study of phenolic resin and their tendency for carbon graphitization

Phenolic resins are important materials in various application sectors due to their outstanding mechanical and thermal properties. However, phenolic resins are known as typical non-graphitized carbon precursor. In this work, important parameters related to the synthesis of PRs were studied: the concentration of the catalyst and the molar ratio between phenol and formaldehyde. The structural information was performed by Fourier Transformation Infrared Spectroscopy and solid state nuclear magnetic resonance of carbon analysis to define mainly between novolac or resol resin. The thermal characteristics of the resins were studied for TGA and their tendencies for graphitization were verified by powder x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy and SEM/HRTEM analysis. As a conclusion, it was verified that the phenolic resins prepared with excess of formaldehyde in acidic medium can present different properties according to their composition, which allows for qualifying them as potential materials for different applications in the technological area that involves graphitized carbon.