A technician heats a mixture of phenol and formaldehyde in the presence of an acid catalyst to form a hard, infusible resin. What type of polymerization is occurring?
Q1. A technician heats a mixture of phenol and formaldehyde in the presence of an acid catalyst to form a hard, infusible resin. What type of polymerization is occurring?
Answer: Condensation polymerization
Explanation: Bakelite forms via condensation with water loss; addition polymerization is tempting but involves no byproduct and occurs mostly in vinyl monomers.