Alkaline Degradation of Resorcinol-Formaldehyde Resins: Solid-State NMR, Thermal Adsorption and Desorption Analysis, and Molecular Modeling

Abstract

Resorcinol-formaldehyde resins, used for alkali metal-cation exchange, were shown to degrade more rapidly in the metallated form compared to the protonated form. Solid-state ¹³C NMR showed additional peaks in the partially degraded resin corresponding to quinone and other carbonyl functionalities, which are absent in the undegraded resin. Semiempirical molecular orbital calculations were used in conjunction with the experimental data to elucidate the degradation mechanism.