Application of inverse gas chromatography in physicochemical characterization of phenolic resin adhesives

• New insight into determination of degree of cross-linking during hardening process.
• New application of inverse gas chromatography-determination of cross-linking degree.
• Good agreement found between IGC and Soxhlet results.
• FTIR results were lower than those obtained by IGC and Soxhlet methods.
• Cross-linking degree of resins is higher on the surface than inside the material.
• IGC, FTIR and Soxhlet methods are appropriate for assessment hardening degree of resins.

One of the most important stages during production of abrasive tools is their hardening. The degree of hardening is very important and influence toughness of the final product. During hardening process the cross-linking of the phenolic resins, used as a binder, occurs. Nowadays, there is no standard, accurate and simple method for the estimation of the hardening degree of abrasive tools. The procedure of the determination of hardening degree of the binder (phenolic resins) by means of inverse gas chromatography (IGC) was presented in this paper. Results obtained by use of IGC derived method was verified by Soxhlet extraction and by FTIR method. Good agreement was found for results from IGC and Soxhlet extraction whereas those from FTIR were much lower. FTIR method supplies data concerning bulk properties not the surface as in case of IGC and Soxhlet methods. These results indicate that resins are more cross-linked on the surface than inside the material.