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Effects of surfactants on the mechanical properties, microstructure, and flame resistance of phenol–urea–formaldehyde foam

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Abstract

To study the effect of surfactants on the foaming behavior of phenol–urea–formaldehyde foam, silicone oil (Dow Corning DC-193) and Tween-80 surfactants were selected to study their effects on the mechanical properties, microstructure, and combustion characteristics of the foams. The results show that the surface tension of the phenol–urea–formaldehyde resins decreased with increasing surfactant concentration. Both the foaming temperature and foaming capacity of the phenol–urea–formaldehyde foam first increased and then decreased with increasing surfactant concentration. The compressive strength and oxygen index of the phenol–urea–formaldehyde foam first decreased and then increased with increasing surfactant concentration, which is probably related to the foaming capacity of the foam. The microstructure of the foams showed that the average pore diameters first increased and then decreased with increasing surfactant concentration. The combination of DC-193 and Tween-80 surfactants significantly improved the compressive strength, uniformity of the cells, and the number of closed cells in the final foam product.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51304027), Project Funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2014M560567), Shandong Province Science and Technology Development Plan Item (2014GSF120012), the State Key Program of Coal Joint Funds of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51134020, No. U1261205), Key technology projects for preventing major accident of National Security State Administration of Work Safety.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Lab of Mine Disaster Prevention and Control, College of Resource and Environmental Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266590, China

    Xiangming Hu, Weimin Cheng, Gang Wang, Xin Lin & Zheng Liu

  2. College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Binzhou University, Binzhou, 256603, Shandong, China

    Xiangming Hu, Weimin Cheng & Chao Li

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  1. Xiangming Hu
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  2. Weimin Cheng
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  3. Chao Li
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  4. Gang Wang
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  5. Xin Lin
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  6. Zheng Liu
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Correspondence to Xiangming Hu.

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Hu, X., Cheng, W., Li, C. et al. Effects of surfactants on the mechanical properties, microstructure, and flame resistance of phenol–urea–formaldehyde foam. Polym. Bull. 73, 1–20 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-015-1470-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-015-1470-9

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