Nanoceria-Reinforced Melamine-Formaldehyde Resin Impregnated Paper Laminates: Development, Enhanced Properties, and Antibacterial Performance

Melamine formaldehyde resin (MFR) is one of the most common thermosetting resins for coating applications. However, its further industrial application has been limited by its high hardness, brittleness, and poor impact strength. Industrial innovation and academic research projects have shown great attention to nanotechnology-based resin-bonded composites. Herein, for the first time, a novel MFR-coated paper laminate composite was designed by dispersing cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria) in the MFR coating. In this study, nanoceria was added to MFR composites at 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 1% by weight. The impact of different concentrations of nanoceria on the physical and mechanical resistance of MFR-coated paper laminate samples were meticulously examined. Experiment results showed that increasing the amount of nanoceria particles in MFR composites leads to notable improvements in transparency, abrasion resistance, hardness, and thermal performance. Nanoceria are renowned for their antibacterial effects, which result from the conversion of Ce3+ to Ce4+. Experimental results demonstrated that nanoceria exhibits high antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli on MFR-coated paper laminate. These findings highlight the potential of nanoceria-incorporated MFR coatings as a promising solution for antibacterial and high-performance laminated paper applications in the wood and furniture industry.