Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Quantitative 31P NMR Analysis of Lignins and Tannins
Published on: August 2, 2021
Physico-chemical characterization of lignins from different sources for use in phenol-formaldehyde resin synthesis
1Materials+Technologies Group, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Basque Country (EHU), Pza. Europa, 1, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain.
Abstract:
During the last decades lignin has been investigated as a promising natural alternative to petrochemicals in phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin production, due to their structural similarity. Physico-chemical characterization of three types of lignin, namely kraft pine lignin (L1), soda-anthraquinone flax lignin (L2), and ethanol-water wild tamarind lignin (L3) has been evaluated to determine which one is the most suitable chemical structure for above purpose. Characterization has been performed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry ((1)H NMR) to analyse the chemical structure, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) for determining molecular weight (MW) and molecular weight distribution (MWD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to measure the glass transition temperature and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to follow the thermal degradation. Both structural and thermal characteristics suggest that kraft pine lignin (L1) would be a better phenol (P) substitute in the synthesis of lignin-phenol-formaldehyde (LPF) resins, as it presents higher amounts of activated free ring positions, higher MW and higher thermal decomposition temperature.
Related Concept Videos
Structure and Nomenclature of Alcohols and Phenols
Alcohols are one of the most important functional groups in organic chemistry. The name of alcohol comes from the hydrocarbon from which it is derived. Alcohols are organic molecules containing the functional hydroxyl or –OH group directly bonded to carbon. Phenols have an OH group directly attached to a benzene ring. While alcohols are colorless, phenol is a white crystalline compound with a characteristic "hospital smell" odor.
As with other organic compounds, alcohols and phenols...
Physical Properties of Alcohols and Phenols
Alcohols possess a higher boiling point than aliphatic hydrocarbons of similar...
Aromatic Compounds: Overview
In 1825, Faraday isolated benzene...
Structural Properties and Dimensions of Lumber
The strength characteristics of wood are...

