Effect of modified phenolic resin on crosslinked network and performances of polyvinyl acetate blending emulsion

ABSTRACT The water‐soluble phenolic resin (PF) and the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) modified phenolic resin (PPF) were synthesized by alkali catalysis method. Both were used as curing agents to blend with the polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) emulsion. The obtained PF, PPF and blending emulsion were characterized by FT‐IR, DSC, DLS, TEM, and viscosity analysis. The thermal stability of latex films was enhanced after blending. When the PF and PPF content was up to 15 wt %, the peel strength of the blending emulsion increased from 17.89 N/25 mm to 21.32 N/25 mm and 23.37 N/25 mm and the shear impact strength were 1.4 and 1.6 times that of unmodified emulsion adhesive, respectively. Moreover, the modification effect of PPF was better than PF due to its tough crosslinked network. Finally, layer cohesion played an increasingly important role in bonding forces with the increment of the PPF content by the glue residue analysis. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135 , 46448.