Study of the reaction of resorcinol, formaldehyde, and ammonia

Abstract Latex dip adhesives for nylon and rayon tire cords are prepared by reacting resorcinol and formaldehyde in aqueous solution in the presence of a catalyst for a specified time and then adding a butadience–styrene–vinylpyridine latex. Ammonia improves the stability of the latex and increases the adhesion of rubber to cord. However, a white precipitate forms if ammonia is added before the resorcinol and formaldehyde have reacted sufficiently. This paper is study of the nature of this precipitate and the conditions for its formation. By measuring the heat of reaction of formaldehyde and ammonia and, subsequently, of mixtures of formaldehyde and resorcinol to which varying amounts of ammonia were added, information on the reaction mechanism has been obtained. Ammonia reacts rapidly with formaldehyde to form an unstable intermediate, presumably trimethylolamine, which then reacts further with resorcinol to form trisdihydroxybenzylamine. This compound is also very reactive and condenses withmore ammonia and formaldehyde to give a polymer of low solubility, the composition depending on the amounts of ammonia and formaldehyde available for reaction. Elemental analyses support this concept. Primary and secondary amines react in a maner similar to ammonia.