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The reaction of urea with formaldehyde

1952; Royal Netherlands Chemical Society; Volume: 71; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/recl.19520710704

1878-7096

J. I. de Jong, J. de Jonge,

Advanced Chemical Sensor Technologies

Abstract The reaction of urea and formaldehyde, giving monomethylolurea, is reversible in a neutral, acid or alkaline aqueous solution, the forward reaction being bimolecular and the reverse reaction monomolecular. The forward and reverse reactions are catalyzed to the same extent by hydrogen ions as well as by hydroxyl ions. The specific rates are directly proportional to the hydrogen and hydroxyl ion concentrations. There appears to be an influence of the buffer concentration on the reaction rates probably due to a general acid and general base catalysis. The equilibrium is almost independent of the pH of the solution and of the buffer concentrations. The activation energies of the forward and the reverse reaction have been determined, giving the heat of reaction. Within experimental error these activation energies may be the same for the non‐catalyzed and for the catalyzed system. The reaction mechanism is discussed.