Process for preparing a phenolic resin from an aralkylene ether and an aromatic aldehyde

摘要

A process for preparing a resin containing phenolic groups, in which an aralkylene ether of formula ROCH.sub.2.Ar. CH.sub.2 OR, wherein Ar represents a phenylene group and R is an alkyl group of 1-4 carbon atoms, is reacted with a phenol containing 1-3 hydroxyl groups and at least 2 hydrogen atoms in the aromatic phenolic nucleus, wherein (1) an ether composition which comprises at least 50 molar % e.g. 50-100% of said ether and the remainder of said composition, if any i.e. up to 50% (such as 0.1-50%) is selected from aromatic compounds each with an Ar nucleus having two substituents selected from CH.sub.3, CH.sub.2 OR, CHO, CH(OR). sub.2, said phenol and (2) an added compound of formula R'CHO or R'CH (OR. sup.2).sub.2, wherein R' is monovalent phenyl group or substituted phenyl group, in which each substituent is an alkyl group of 1-4 carbon atoms or a chlorine atom, and R.sup.2 is as defined for R, are reacted together in a reaction mixture in the presence of a catalyst to form a resin containing phenolic groups, the molar proportion of phenol to the total of aromatic compounds in said ether composition and added compounds being 1.3:1 to 1 to 2.5:1 (e.g. 1.35-2.0:1 such as 1.38-1.8:1 or 1.4-1.7:1 and the molar ratio of CH.sub.2 OR to the total of CHO and acetal groups being 3:1 to 10:1, and the molar ratio of phenol to the total of CHO and acetal groups being 3.7:1 to 9:1.