Performance of urea-formaldehyde resins synthesized at two different low molar ratios with different numbers of urea addition

This study reports the performance of urea-formaldehyde (UF) resins prepared at two different low formaldehyde/urea (F/U) mole ratios with different numbers of urea addition during synthesis. The second or third urea was added during the synthesis of UF resins to obtain two different low molar ratios of 0.7 and 1.0, respectively. The molecular weights, cure kinetics, and adhesion performance of these resins were characterized by the gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, and tensile shear strength of plywood, respectively. When the number of urea additions and F/U molar ratio increased, the gelation time decreased, whereas the viscosity and molecular weight increased. Further, the UF resins prepared with the second urea and 1.0 molar ratio resulted in greater activation energy than those with third urea and 0.7 molar ratio. Tensile shear strength and formaldehyde emission (FE) of the plywood that bonded with these resins increased when the number of urea additions and molar ratio increased. These results suggest that the UF resins prepared with 0.7 molar ratio and third urea addition provide lower adhesion performance and FE than those resins with 1.0 mole ratio and the second urea addition.