Skip to Content
Merck
CN
All Photos(2)

Key Documents

View All Documentation

Safety Information

441244

Sigma-Aldrich

Paraformaldehyde

prilled, 95%

Synonym(s):

Polyoxymethylene

Sign Into View Organizational & Contract Pricing
All Photos(2)

About This Item

Linear Formula:
HO(CH2O)nH
CAS Number:
30525-89-4
Molecular Weight:
30.03 (as monomer)
MDL number:
MFCD00133991
UNSPSC Code:
12352100
PubChem Substance ID:
24867646
NACRES:
NA.22

vapor density

1.03 (vs air)

Quality Level

200

vapor pressure

<1.45 mmHg ( 25 °C)

Assay

95%

form

prilled

autoignition temp.

572 °F

expl. lim.

73 %

mp

120-170 °C (lit.)

transition temp

sublimation point 150 °C

solubility

alcohol and cold water: slightly soluble
ethers, hydrocarbons and carbon tetrachloride: insoluble

density

0.88 g/mL at 25 °C (lit.)

SMILES string

[O-]#[C+H2]

InChI

1S/CH2O/c1-2/h1H2

InChI key

WSFSSNUMVMOOMR-UHFFFAOYSA-N

Looking for similar products? Visit Product Comparison Guide

General description

Paraformaldehyde, a polymerization product of formaldehyde, is used in the polycondensation reaction for the synthesis of thermoset polymers.

Paraformaldehyde is also referred as polyoxymethylene. It participates in the regioselective reductive coupling reactions of dienes, alkynes and allenes in the presence of ruthenium catalyst. It also participates in the synthesis of esters, via alkoxycarbonylation of alkenes.

Application

Formaldehyde source to prepare phenol-, urea-, furfuryl alcohol-, resorcinol- and melamine-formaldehyde polymers for use in coatings, wood products, textiles and foundry resins.
Paraformaldehyde may be used in the preparation of azomethine ylide, α-methylenechromanes, α-methylenequinoline and ortho-quinone methides.

Features and Benefits

Source of methanol-free formaldehyde.
Decomposes in hot water to give formaldehyde.

Signal Word

Danger

Hazard Classifications

Acute Tox. 4 Inhalation - Acute Tox. 4 Oral - Carc. 1B - Eye Dam. 1 - Flam. Sol. 2 - Muta. 2 - Skin Irrit. 2 - Skin Sens. 1 - STOT SE 3

Target Organs

Respiratory system

Storage Class Code

4.1B - Flammable solid hazardous materials

WGK

WGK 2

Flash Point(F)

Not applicable

Flash Point(C)

Not applicable

Personal Protective Equipment

dust mask type N95 (US), Eyeshields, Gloves

Regulatory Information

危险化学品

Choose from one of the most recent versions:

Certificates of Analysis (COA)

Lot/Batch Number
MKCW7683
MKCW2325
MKCV0293
MKCW0328
MKCT2543

Don't see the Right Version?

If you require a particular version, you can look up a specific certificate by the Lot or Batch number.

Search for a COA

Already Own This Product?

Find documentation for the products that you have recently purchased in the Document Library.

Visit the Document Library

  1. Which document(s) contains shelf-life or expiration date information for a given product?

    If available for a given product, the recommended re-test date or the expiration date can be found on the Certificate of Analysis.

  2. How do I get lot-specific information or a Certificate of Analysis?

    The lot specific COA document can be found by entering the lot number above under the "Documents" section.

  3. How do I find price and availability?

    There are several ways to find pricing and availability for our products. Once you log onto our website, you will find the price and availability displayed on the product detail page. You can contact any of our Customer Sales and Service offices to receive a quote.  USA customers:  1-800-325-3010 or view local office numbers.

  4. What is the Department of Transportation shipping information for this product?

    Transportation information can be found in Section 14 of the product's (M)SDS.To access the shipping information for this material, use the link on the product detail page for the product. 

  5. What are the differences between the Paraformaldheyde products and which is best suited for use as a fixative for Electron Microscopy?

    Product 16005 is sold only in Europe and is not available to US customers.The primary differences among the various products is in the form for each product.  P6148 is listed as crystalline, 158127 is listed as powder, and 441244 is listed as prilled. The product information page for 441244 states the prilled form will go into solution more readily, but the prilled, crystalline, and powder forms are equivalent in terms on use. The prilled form is expected to slow down the rate of sublimation compared to the powder or the crystalline forms.  Any of the 3 products should be suitable for use as a fixative.  However, once prepared, paraformaldehyde solutions are unstable unless methanol is added as a stabilizer. Customer options vary from preparing solutions daily to storing solutions for 2 or 3 weeks. If used as a fixative for electron microscopy, we recommend preparing solutions fresh daily to avoid the risk of repeating tedious EM work due to deterioration of the fixative.  For less critical applications, it would be more acceptable to use solutions stored for longer periods of time.

  6. My question is not addressed here, how can I contact Technical Service for assistance?

    Ask a Scientist here.

Synthesis of ethanol from paraformaldehyde, CO 2 and H 2
Green Chemistry, 19, 4396-4401 (2017)
Brannon Sam et al.
Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English), 54(11), 3267-3274 (2014-11-29)
Ruthenium-catalyzed reductive couplings of paraformaldehyde with dienes, alkynes, and allenes provide access to products of hydrohydroxymethylation that cannot be formed selectively under the conditions of hydroformylation. In certain cases, the regioselectivity of the CC coupling can be inverted by using
Ruthenium-Catalyzed Alkoxycarbonylation of Alkenes with Paraformaldehyde as a Carbon Monoxide Substitute.
Liu Q, et al.
ChemCatChem, 6(10), 2805-2809 (2014)
J Justin Mulvey et al.
International journal of nanomedicine, 9, 4245-4255 (2014-09-18)
We aimed to create a more robust and more accessible standard for amine-modifying single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). A 1,3-cycloaddition was developed using an azomethine ylide, generated by reacting paraformaldehyde and a side-chain-Boc (tert-Butyloxycarbonyl)-protected, lysine-derived alpha-amino acid, H-Lys(Boc)-OH, with purified SWCNT
José C J M D S Menezes et al.
Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany), 20(42), 13644-13655 (2014-08-30)
In view of increasing demands for efficient photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy (PDT), we herein report the synthesis and photophysical characterizations of new chlorin e6 trimethyl ester and protoporphyrin IX dimethyl ester dyads as free bases and Zn(II) complexes. The synthesis of these
View All Related Papers

Our team of scientists has experience in all areas of research including Life Science, Material Science, Chemical Synthesis, Chromatography, Analytical and many others.

Contact Technical Service