Liquid Bakelite: Phenol and Formalin Heated Together, the Oily Layer Kept (Baekeland 1909)

Before Bakelite sets hard it is an oily liquid. Baekeland's patent (US 942,699, 1909): heat about equal volumes of phenol and commercial formaldehyde and the mixture splits into two liquids. The upper one is watery; the lower, oily one is the condensation product, which dissolves in alcohol or acetone and turns hard and infusible when heated further. This liquid was used to coat and bind paper and fibres. Phenol burns and poisons through the skin; formaldehyde vapour is toxic: fume hood, chemical gloves. The picture: our diagram.