Abstract
This article reports on the synthesis of phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resins, as modified by nanocopper particles, through the in situ polymerization process. XRD and TEM analysis revealed that nanocopper particles were well dispersed in the resulting PF resins. The thermal properties of the prepared PF resins were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results indicated that nanocopper particles caused a remarkable improvement in the thermal stability of the PF resins at lower temperatures. The toughness and the tribological properties of the friction materials based on the prepared PF resins were also studied. The results showed that nanocopper particles substantially improved the brittleness and the tribological performances of the friction materials.