keywords: Monomethylol urea, binder, emulsion paint, pH
Monomethylol Urea (MMU) was synthesized using the one step process. The MMU was characterized and evaluated, at different pH values. The viscosity, moisture uptake, formaldehyde emission, density as well as melting points were observed to decrease with increasing pH value while the gel time, elongation at break, refractive index and turbidity increased with increasing pH values. Observations on solubility test shows that MMU resins were soluble at pH value of 4 – 7.30, beyond this value it became insoluble, which is a pointer to the paint formulator that above this pH value, MMU should not be used for paint formulation.