The application of a polymer microgel template method was extended for the preparation of urea-formaldehyde resin and polyacrylamide organic/organic composite microspheres. The UF Resin/PAM composite microspheres with novel surface morphology were prepared via polycondensation between form- aldehyde and urea in the inverse suspension system using PAM microgels as a template. The prepared composite microspheres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer techniques. It was demonstrated that the surface morphologies of the composite microspheres could be controlled by varying the pH value and concentrations of the formaldehyde and urea solutions, the molar ratio of formaldehyde to urea and the composition of the used template. It was expected that the proposed methodology could provide an effective path to synthesis of organic-organic composite microspheres with special surface morphologies.

Key words: microgel, urea-formaldehyde resin, composite microsphere, template method