Melamine-Formaldehyde Resins
Properties and Applications
Melamine formaldehyde resin (also called
Melamine or MF) is a
very durable and versatile thermosetting plastic with good fire and heat resistance.
It is primarily made up of melamine and formaldehyde with formaldehyde acting as
a crosslinker. Its good fire retardant properties are due to the release of nitrogen gas when burned or charred, that is,
melamine stops
burning when the source of the heat is removed.
MF resins compete in many applications with urea-formaldehyde (UF)
and phenolic resins (phenoplasts).
In general, MF resins are harder and stronger than phenolics but have lower moisture and heat resistance. Unlike phenolics, they are
clear and colorless. Thus, MF resin can be molded into products of light color.
Compared to UF resins, MF resins have somwhat better properties including better moisture and heat resistance, but they are
also more expensive.
Melamine resins primary use is in building and furniture
construction. It is extensively used for laminates, overlay
materials, particleboards and floor tiles. Melamine resin can also be converted
into foam structures with a distinctive pore structure, which is extremely hard.
MF foam finds applications as an insulating and soundproofing material and more recently as a cleaning abrasive. Melamine can also
be molded into high-quality dinnerware having good heat, scratch,
and wear resistance.
(Methanol etherified) hexamethylolmelamine
(called hexamethoxymethylmelamine or HMMM) and pure melamine (2,4,6-triamino-1,3,5-triazine) are
widely employed to crosslink many industrial thermosetting coatings,
including alkyds, epoxies, and polyester-polyols. They readily react
with primary and secondary hydroxyl groups of the resin, resulting in
three-dimensional thermoset polymer networks.
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