Stability and reactivity of progressively methylolated melamine derivatives

Progressive methylolation of the melamine molecule represents the first phase in the production of melamine resins. Melamine methylolation consists of a cascade of chemical reactions between molecules of formaldehyde with the melamine or its partially methylolated derivative. We examined this cascade using ab initio calculations, a solvation model and have shown that during the progressive melamine methylolation products with more formaldehyde-substituted amino groups are preferentially formed. Moreover, by finding the transition state for the first reaction in the reaction cascade we suggested the plausible mechanism of the addition of melamine on formaldehyde that involves two water molecules. The obtained results are the first step towards increasing the yield of the final product in the production of melamine-based resins.