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Author: Subject: Bakelite from resorcinol
Jylliana
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[*] posted on 28-3-2017 at 00:47
Bakelite from resorcinol


Hello,

It's been a while since I've been here but I wanted to restart some home chemistry after some stuff happened.
I wanted to make Bakelite after I read something about it on a Yahoo groups forum. The same person described the entire synthesis in a couple of sentences. I decided to buy the required reagents and give it a shot, but when I looked for a more detailed protocol to follow, I couldn't find anything with the starting materials I had ordered.



Quote:

Dissolve 10g Resorcinol in 16ml water.
Add 12ml 36% formaldehyde solution.
Add 1ml 5M sodium hydroxide.
Heat the mixture carefully until the reaction starts.


Most syntheses I could find online, started with phenol, or followed an entirely different set of steps.

I guess I could follow the steps as I first read them, with resorcinol, but not finding a single other source for this makes me wary about the reliability of the source.

Can any of you shed some light on a better source with the same materials, or at least verify that I am not making a mistake by trying this? I tend to be rather clumsy so I'd rather double check with more experienced people.





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j_sum1
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[*] posted on 28-3-2017 at 01:30


Fantastic to have you back Jyliana. And great to be getting back into some home cgem.

My experience with bakelite is limited so I can't help much. I am sure someone will be able to help.
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WGTR
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[*] posted on 28-3-2017 at 02:40


I don't have experience using resorcinol, but here is my own experiment using phenol:

http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=63175&...

Using ammonium hydroxide as a catalyst gives cleaner results than if sodium hydroxide is used.

Anyway, there are a variety of different formaldehyde resins, and the final properties can vary depending on the initial ratios of formaldehyde to the other component being used.

P.S.: If you Google "resorcinol formaldehyde resins", you'll get quite a bit more information.

[Edited on 3-28-2017 by WGTR]




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