MALDI-TOF MS analysis of the acceleration of the curing of phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resins induced by propylene carbonate

International audienceA PF resin with a formaldehyde/phenol molar ratio of 1.8 was accelerated by addition of 1 % propylene carbonate. The curing acceleration was investigated by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). After addition of this small proportion of propylene carbonate the gel time decreased from 40 to 28 min. From the spectra of MALDI-TOF it was clear that the curing reaction of the PF resin was accelerated by propylene carbonate; there was no obvious difference between the final structures of the PF resin with and without the accelerator