Upgrading melamine-urea-formaldehyde polycondensation resins with buffering additives. I. The effect of hexamine sulfate and its limits

Iminoamino methylene base intermediates obtained by the decomposition of hexamethylenetetramine (hexamine) stabilized by the presence of strong anions such as SO42- and HSO4-, or hexamine sulfate, were shown to markedly improve the water and weather resistance of hardened melamine-urea-formaldehyde (MUF) resins used as wood adhesives and of the wet internal bond strength performance of, wood boards bonded with them. The effect was shown to be induced by very small amounts, between 1 and 5 wt % of this material on resin solid content. This strong effect allowed the use of MUF resins of much lower melamine content and also provided good performance of the bonded joints. Because the main effect was also present at the smaller proportion of hexamine as hexamine sulfate, it was not due at all to any increase in the molar ratio of the resin as a consequence of hexamine sulfate addition. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.