Urea formaldehyde resin

Description

An important class of amino resins. Urea formaldehyde plastic was first made in 1896 by condensing urea with formaldehyde to form a water-soluble resin. It was patented as a molding powder in 1923 called Pollapas by Frits Pollack. The thermoplastic resin was molded with heat and pressure into colorful household products. Urea formaldehyde resins soon replaced the thiourea resins (resin Beetle resin). Currently urea formaldehyde resins are most often used in foams, insulation, coatings ((enamel baked enamels) and adhesives (plywood, board particle board, etc.). They are degraded by heat, acids, and alkalis.

Synonyms and Related Terms

UF; urea-formaldehyde resin (AAT); resina urea-formaldehdo (Esp.); rsine ure-formaldhyde (Fr.); resina de ureia formaldedo (Port.)

Examples: Pollapas; Kaurit S

Other Properties

Soluble in water.

CAS	9001-05-6
Density	1.47-1.52
Refractive Index	1.54

Hazards and Safety

Toxic by inhalation. Skin contact can cause irritation and allergies. Slowly evolves formaldehyde and ammonia.

Comparisons

Physical Properties for Selected Thermoplastic Resins

General Characteristics of Polymers

Authority

• G.S.Brady, G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 837

• Theodore J. Reinhart, Theodore J. Reinhart, 'Glossary of Terms', Engineered Plastics, ASM International, 1988

• Richard S. Lewis, Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Caring for your Collections, Arthur W Schulz (ed.), Harry N. Abrams, Inc. , New York, 1992

• Rosalie Rosso King, Rosalie Rosso King, Textile Identification, Conservation, and Preservation, Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, NJ, 1985

• Michael McCann, Michael McCann, Artist Beware, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York City, 1979

• Pam Hatchfield, Pam Hatchfield, Pollutants in the Museum Environment, Archetype Press, London, 2002

• Random House, Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000

• Sharon Blank, Sharon Blank, An introduction to plastics and rubbers in collections, Studies in Conservation, 35, 53-63, 1990

• Website address 1, Website address 1 Comment: www.nswpmith.com.au/historyofplastics.html