Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The role of sucrose in amino polymers synthesized by the strongly acid process

2012; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 27; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/01694243.2012.727150

1568-5616

Nuno Costa, João Pereira, João Ferra, Paulo J. S. Cruz, J. Agostinho Moreira, Jorge Martins, Fernão D. Magalhães, Adélio Mendes, Luísa Carvalho,

Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications

Abstract This article studies the incorporation of sucrose in amino polymers produced by the strongly acid process and its role on the physico-mechanical properties and aldehyde emission of the resulting particleboards. The incorporation of sucrose at different pH environments was studied and differences on molecular weight of resins were analyzed by gel permeation chromatography/size exclusion chromatography (GPC/SEC) and characteristic chemical bands by Raman spectroscopy. A reaction mechanism was proposed to explain the observed differences in GPC/SEC chromatograms and was supported by Raman spectra. It was observed that small amounts of sucrose incorporated in polymeric matrix are sufficient to improve the physico-mechanical properties of particleboards; the sucrose addition protocol plays a key role on these improvements. Keywords: urea-formaldehyde resinsstrongly acid processbio-additiveswood-based panelsinternal bond strengthformaldehyde emission Acknowledgements This work is co-founded by FEDER (Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional)/QREN (E0_formaldehyde project with reference FCOMP010202FEDER005347) and national funds through FCT (project PTDC/EQU-EQU/111571/2009 with the reference FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-015239)) under the framework of COMPETE-Programa Operacional Factor de Competitividade (POFC). The authors wish to thank Euroresinas and Sonae Indústria PCDM for providing the equipment and raw materials needed for this work. Nuno Costa wishes to thank FCT/MCTES for Ph.D. grant SFRH/BDE/33655/2009.