Oxidative Dissolution of Resoles: A Versatile Approach to Intricate Nanostructures

Abstract

Resoles are resins obtained by base-catalyzed phenol-formaldehyde condensation with a three-dimensional cross-linked framework. They are considered as highly chemical-resistant, and calcination is thus generally used in the treatment of resole-type resins, which significantly limits the diversity of nanostructured materials that can be derived from resole-type resins. Herein, we report that selected metal nitrate solutions can be used to dissolve various types of nanostructured resoles through an oxidative dissolution process. This strategy not only enables the controlled dissolution of resoles, but more importantly provides a new approach to selectively etch resole-based nanocomposites to give rise to a variety of nanostructured materials with unprecedented architectures and great potential in bioapplications.

Keywords: hybrid materials; nanomaterials; nanostructures; oxidative dissolution; resoles.