Oxalic Acid Catalyzed Polyfurfuryl Alcohol Curing: A Rheokinetics Study

Curing kinetic of polyfurfuryl alcohol (PFA) resin was investigated rheokinetically in the presence of either 3 or 5 wt.% oxalic acid (OX) catalyst. Isothermal cure behavior was described by an empirical Arrhenius-type expression of changes in dynamic properties. Gel time, tgel, was determined as a function of curing reaction temperature and OX concentration. The curing degree at gel point, αgel, values were constantly around 0.7 for all of the investigated temperatures and compositions. According to the results, increasing of the curing temperature significantly accelerated the curing reaction and increased curing rate constant of the PFA resin

Keywords:

Bio-based resins , Polyfurfuryl alcohol , Curing reaction , Rheokinetics , Acid catalyst