Phenol-formaldehyde reaction dimers

More recently, the reaction advancement of resole syntheses (pH = 8 and 60°C) was monitored using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), 13C NMR, and chemical assays.55,56 The disappearance of phenol and the appearances of various hydroxymethyl-substituted phenolic monomers and dimers have been measured. By assessing the residual monomer as a function of reaction time, this work also demonstrated the unusually high reactivity of 2,6-dihydroxymethyl-phenol. The rate constants for phenolic monomers toward formaldehyde substitution have been measured (Table 7.6). 

Phenol-formaldehyde resins can cause several types of damage to the skin. The most frequently reported effects are different types of contact dermatitis such as irritant contact dermatitis and allergic contact dermatitis. Depigmentation and contact urticaria have also been described. Reaction products, such as monomers and dimers, or remaining raw materials, such as phenols and aldehydes, are causative agents. 

Resole syntheses entail substitution of formaldehyde (or formaldehyde derivatives) on phenolic ortho and para positions followed by methylol condensation reactions which form dimers and oligomers. Under basic conditions, pheno-late rings are the reactive species for electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions. A simplified mechanism is generally used to depict the formaldehyde substitution on the phenol rings (Fig. 7.21). It should be noted that this mechanism does not account for pH effects, the type of catalyst, or the formation of hemiformals. Mixtures of mono-, di-, and trihydroxymethyl-substituted phenols are produced. 

Dihydro-1,3-benzoxazines (196) are formed by the reaction of phenols with a mixture of formaldehyde and primary aromatic amines in the molar ratio 2 1. Presumably the phenol first reacts with the appropriate iminium species to form an intermediate amine (195), which is then cyclized in a Pictet-Spengler type reaction (Scheme 81) (44JA1875). If 2-hydroxybenzylamines are employed then methylene derivatives are obtained, and if the formaldehyde is replaced by a-dicarbonyl compounds dehydro dimers (197) are produced (Scheme 82) <70BCJ226>. 

Fig. 7-25. Main reactions of the phenolic /8-aryl ether structures during alkali (soda) and kraft pulping (Gierer, 1970). R = H, alkyl, or aryl group. The first step involves formation of a quinone methide intermediate (2). In alkali pulping intermediate (2) undergoes proton or formaldehyde elimination and is converted to styryl aryl ether structure (3a). During kraft pulping intermediate (2) is instead attacked by the nucleophilic hydrosulfide ions with formation of a thiirane structure (4) and simultaneous cleavage of the /3-aryl ether bond. Intermediate (5) reacts further either via a 1,4-dithiane dimer or directly to compounds of styrene type (6) and to complicated polymeric products (P). During these reactions most of the organically bound sulfur is eliminated as elemental sulfur.

Little is known about the overall mechanism of cyclic oligomer formation, although the mechanism of the initial stages of the sequence seems fairly clear. The first chemical event is the reaction of formaldehyde (formed in the Petrolite procedures by depolymerization of paraformaldehyde) with phenol to form 2-hydroxy-methyl- and 2,6-6w(hydroxymethyl)phenols in a base-catalyzed process, as shown in Fig. 3. Such compounds were characterized many years ago50), obtained from the action of aqueous formaldehyde on phenol in basic solution at room temperature. Subsequent condensation between the hydroxymethylphenols and the starting phenol occurs to form linear dimers, trimers, tetramers, etc. via a pathway that might involve o-quinonemethide intermediates which react with phenolate ions in a Michael-like reaction, as portrayed in Fig. 4. The condensation of hydroxymethyl-... 

Addition of formaldehyde can occur at three sites the two sites ortho to the phenolic OH and one site para to the OH. Once hydroxymethyl compounds are available, there is the potential for reactions that generate dimers, trimers and higher units. These units can further condense to form ortho-ortho, ortho-para or para-para methylene linkages. 

The proton-catalyzed hydroxyalkylation of phenolic substances with carbonyl compounds is one of the reactions in which a weak acid catalyst is required, as strong acids will lead to oligomerization. The possible reaction routes of phenol reacting with the two aldehydes studied are shown in Figure 1. Especially with formaldehyde, mono-substituted products are difficult to obtain, because of the fast consecutive dimerization when larger carbonyl compounds are applied (such as isobutanal), monomer formation might be enhanced because of steric reasons. 

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