Abstract: Phenolic resin was modified with naphthol forming an environment-friend material. The structure and heat resistance of phenolic resin were studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetry, and the kinetic parameters of thermal degradation were calculated with Kissinger and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa methods. The thermal degradation of phenolic resin could be divided into two stages. The modification with naphthol improved the heat resistance of the phenolic resin. When the mass fraction of naphthol was 10 %, the tensile, flexural and impact strengths increased by 2.46, 1.62 and 1.34 times based on neat phenolic resin, respectively. Meanwhile, the volume and surface resistances reached orders of 1014.

Key words: naphthol, phenolic resin, thermal decomposition kinetics, heat resistance, modification