Abstract: Graphene oxide modified phenolic resin was synthesized via insitu polymerization, using which phenolic foam was prepared. The mechanical property, thermal stability, and microstructure of the foam were characterized using FTIR, universal testing machine, TGA, and SEM. It showed that the cell size of phenolic foam loaded with 1.0 % graphene oxide was more uniform than unmodified phenolic foam, the compressive strength was increased by 65.0 % compared with unmodified phenolic foam, the surface powdering rate of phenolic foam modified by graphene oxide was significantly lower, graphene oxide had a significant improvement on the strength, toughness and thermal stability of the phenolic foam.

Key words: phenolic foam, graphene oxide, modified, characterization