Preparation and Properties of Resorcinol Formaldehyde Xerogels Using Iron Nitrate Nonahydrate as a New acidic Catalyst

Resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) xerogels were synthesized by polycondensation of resorcinol with formaldehyde followed by subcritical drying conditions. Iron Nitrate Nonahydrate was used as an acid catalyst of the reaction.. The effect of catalyst amount on the Synthesized xerogels characteristics was identified by SEM and BET analysis. The results showed that higher R/C ratios or decreasing the amount of this catalyst will result smaller paticles, larger necks , higher surface area and higher porosity