Novolacs from paraformaldehyde

Abstract

Abstract Novolacs were prepared from phenol, paraformaldehyde, and variable amounts of water and methanol using oxalic acid as a catalyst. The retarding effect of water and methanol is clearly shown. Diffusion of reactants in the two‐phase system does not seem to have a bearing on the measurements of reaction kinetics. A correlation between viscosity and refractive index of the polymer phase is shown. The advantages of using paraformaldehyde instead of aqueous formaldehyde solutions are summarized.