STRUCTURAL VARIATION DURING PYROLYSIS OF FURFURYL ALCOHOL AND FURFURAL-FURFURYL ALCOHOL RESINS

Films of furfuryl alcohol resin and a furan resin prepared from a mixture of furfural and furfuryl alcohol were heated to several stages of different temperatures up to 600 degrees C in Ar gas and in HCl gas. Weight loss and shrinkage, elemental composition, and IR spectra were measured on the resin films, and heated films obtained. Absorbance, per the same area and thickness of the resin films, of several characteristic bands in the spectra was estimated for those films. The absorbance showed that furan rings in the films continued to break up to a temperature between 300 degrees C and 450 degrees C with increasing heating temperature, and aromatic rings began to form between 300 degrees C and 400 degrees C. The HCl heating atmosphere increased the amounts of carbon element remaining in the 400-600 degrees C films and the carbon yields of 900 degrees C films. The variation of the absorbance with increasing heating temperature suggested the occurrence of some reactions during the pyrolysis of the resins.