Effects of formaldehyde/urea mole ratio and melamine content on the hydrolytic stability of cured urea-melamine-formaldehyde resin

Subject The influence of formaldehyde/urea (F/U) mole ratio and melamine content on the hydrolytic stability of urea-melamine-formaldehyde (UMF) resin was investigated. The hydrolytic stability of cured UMF resin was determined by measuring the mass loss and the liberated formaldehyde concentration after acid hydrolysis. A higher F/U mole ratio and greater melamine content of UMF resins resulted in lower hydrolytic stability. These results indicated that higher F/U mole ratio and greater melamine content resulted in more branched network structure, which subsequently increases the susceptibility of cured UMF resin toward acid hydrolysis.