Thermal Curing Behavior and Tensile Properties of Resole Phenol-Formaldehyde Resin/Clay/Cellulose Nanocomposite

This study investigated the effects of layered clay on the thermal curing behavior and tensile properties of resole phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin/clay/cellulose nanocomposites. The thermal curing behavior of the nanocomposite was characterized using conventional differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and temperature modulated (TMDSC). The addition of clay was found to accelerate resin curing, as measured by peak temperature ($T_p$) and heat of reaction (${\Delta}H$) of the nanocomposite’ curing reaction increasing clay addition decreased $T_p$ with a minimum at 3~5% clay. However, the reversing heat flow and heat capacity showed that the clay addition up to 3% delayed the vitrification process of the resole PF resin in the nanocomposite, indicating an inhibition effect of the clay on curing in the later stages of the reaction. Three different methods were employed to determineactivation energies for the curing reaction of the nanocomposite. Both the Ozawa and Kissinger methods showed the lowest activation energy (E) at 3% clay content. Using the isoconversional method, the activation energy ($E_{\alpha}$) as a function of the degree of conversion was measured and showed that as the degree of cure increased, the $E_{\alpha}$ showed a gradual decrease, and gave the lowest value at 3% nanoclay. The addition of clay improved the tensile strengths of the nanocomposites, although a slight decrease in the elongation at break was observed as the clay content increased. These results demonstrated that the addition of clay to resole PF resins accelerate the curing behavior of the nanocomposites with an optimum level of 3% clay based on the balance between the cure kinetics and tensile properties.