A very simple empirical kinetic model of the acid‐catalyzed cure of urea–formaldehyde resins

The hot pressing operation is the final stage in MDF (medium density fiberboard) manufacture; the fiber mat is compressed and heated up to promote the cure of the resin. The aim of the investigations is to study the curing reactions of UF (Urea–Formaldehyde) resins as commonly used in the production of MDF, and to develop a simplified kinetic model. This investigation has combined Raman spectroscopy to study the reaction cure and ¹³C‐NMR for the quantitative and qualitative characterization of the liquid and still uncured resin. Raman spectroscopy was found very interesting for the study of the resin cure and permitted to obtain kinetic data as the basis for a simple empirical model, considering a homogeneous irreversible reaction of a single kind of methylol group and ureas with rate constants depending on their degree of substitution. Although these results can provide a better understanding of the composition and the cure of an UF resin, several issues remain open, such as the influence of the reversibility of the reactions taking place during the curing process as well as the possible formation of cyclic groups in the resin. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 5977–5987, 2006