Phenolic Resin-Based Polymeric Materials: Design, Syntheses and Properties

Abstract

This dissertation embodies in detail the synthesis and characterization of novolac type phenolic resin-based materials with special emphasis to their applications such as adsorptive removal of azo dye pollutants and antimicrobial system. Efforts to broaden phenolic resins ( resole and novolac ) properties, structures, functionalities, and applications have grown rapidly in the sphere of research because of their many desirable characteristics. In particular, novolac resin chemistry is a matter of great interest since it facilitates tailoring of polymer physico-chemical properties to fulfill different applications. From this viewpoint, there remains a host of new opportunities to develop materials derived from novolac resin for pollution removal and antimicrobial applications, which have not yet been addressed. The first part of this work (Chapters- 2, 3 & 4) focuses on the design and synthesis of novolac type phenolic resin-based polymeric network materials to remove azo dye contaminants for environmental remediation. Chapter-2 describes the synthesis of novolac type phenolic resin-based networks bearing ethylenediamine and diethylenetriamine units and their characterization by FTIR, 13 C NMR, SEM, BET, TGA and elemental analyses. In this study, adsorption performance of obtained networks in removing selected azo dyes such as methyl orange (MO), orange-II (OII) and orange-G (OG) from aqueous solution was investigated.Chapter-3 presents the utilization of obtained networks to develop polymer- inorganic hybrid materials incorporating iron(III). Hybrids were characterized by FTIR, XRD and TGA. Hybrids were found to exhibit enhanced adsorption capacity and azo dye removal performance. Further study (Chapter-4) describes the synthesis and characterization of pyridine-rich novolac-based network, which displays remarkable efficiency toward the removal of selected azo dyes, MO, OII and OG, from aqueous systems. FTIR, 13 C NMR, elemental, FESEM, BET and TGA were used for complete characterization of this network. Compared to the reported adsorbents in Chapters-2 and 3, the obtained network turned out to be admirable adsorbent for removal of azo dyes (MO/OII/OG) over a wide pH range (acidic-neutral-basic conditions), which is crucial for field use of wastewater treatment. The second part of this work (Chapter-5) is based on antibacterial application. This part reports the simple preparation of hybrid derived from functionalized novolac resin and AgNPs. The prepared hybrid held the antibacterial activity against Gram-positive ( Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 3160, Staphylococcus epidermidis NCIM2493, Bacillus subtilis ) and Gram-negative ( Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC27853, Escherichia coli ) bacteria as assessed by disc diffusion and minimal inhibitory concentration ( MIC ) methods. This finding may be useful in the development of potential antimicrobial materials.