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Effect of Tartaric Acid Addition to Catalyst on Curing Behaviour of Urea-Formaldehyde Resin

This paper reports on possibility of tartaric acid (L-(+)-tartaric acid) use as a part of catalyst for commercial urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin curing. Aqueous solution (20 %) of ammonium sulphate with addition of 0.25 to 1.0 % of tartaric acid was used as two-component catalyst and curing behaviour of UF resin was determined. More precisely, changes in pH values and resin curing times as affected by catalyst type and addition were determined. Alongside, the pH value changes of prepared resin/catalyst mixtures during the course of 4 hours were determined and cured resin was additionally analysed by means of FT-IR spectroscopy. Test results showed that the curing behaviour of resin for which the pure ammonium sulphate was used as catalyst is somewhat similar to that of resins cured with catalyst prepared with addition of tartaric acid, but with one significant difference, which is the resin curing time. Such results indicate the possibility of thus modified catalyst use in the production of particleboards, where a shortened resin curing time could potentially result in a shortening of the board pressing time.

Catalyst ; curing behaviour ; FT-IR ; pH value ; urea-formaldehyde resin ; tartaric acid

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