Embodiments of the present technology include a formaldehyde-free binder composition. The composition may include melamine. The composition may also include a reducing sugar. In addition, the binder composition may include a non-carbohydrate aldehyde or ketone. Embodiments may also include a method of making a formaldehyde-free binder composition. The method may include dissolving melamine in an aqueous solution of a reducing sugar. The concentration of the reducing sugar may be 30 wt. % to 70 wt. % of the aqueous solution, which may be at a temperature of 50 C. to 100 C. The method may also include adding a non-carbohydrate aldehyde or ketone to the dissolved melamine in the aqueous solution to form a binder solution. The temperature of the aqueous solution of the dissolved melamine may be 50 C. to 100 C. during the addition of the non-carbohydrate aldehyde or ketone. The method may further include reducing the temperature of the binder solution.

Methods for making wet gels and dried gels therefrom are provided. The method for making a wet gel can include combining a hydroxybenzene compound, an aldehyde compound, and an additive to produce a reaction mixture. The additive can include a carboxylic acid, an anhydride, a homopolymer, a copolymer, or any mixture thereof. At least the hydroxybenzene compound and the aldehyde compound can be reacted to produce a wet gel. The reaction mixture can include about 10 wt % to about 65 wt % of the hydroxybenzene compound, about 5 wt % to about 25 wt % of the aldehyde compound, up to about 85 wt % of the carboxylic acid, up to about 40 wt % of the anhydride, up to about 40 wt % of the homopolymer, and up to about 40 wt % of the copolymer, where weight percent values are based on the combined weight of the hydroxybenzene compound, the aldehyde compound, and the additive.

Polymer and copolymers and compositions containing one or more of such polymers and copolymers. Polymers and copolymers comprise two or more structurally different glycolaldehyde dimers as monomer units. Exemplary glycolaldehyde dimers are 2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-dioxane; (1,2-hydroxyethoxy) acetaldehyde; 2-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-dioxolan-4-ol; 1,1-oxydi(ethane-1,2-diol); 2,2-oxydi(ethane-1,1-diol); (1,3-dioxetane-2,4-diyl)dimethanol; and 2,2-oxydiacetaldehyde). Copolymers containing one or more glycolaldehyde dimers and a second monomer that is not a glycolaldehyde dimer are also provided. Copolymers exhibit improved optical and mechanical properties.

Provided are a polymer including a first repeating unit represented by Formula 1 and a second repeating unit represented by Formula 2, a method of producing the same, a resist composition including the polymer, and a method of producing a pattern by using the resist composition:

##STR00001##

wherein, for descriptions of L.sub.11, a11, X.sub.11, c11, Y.sub.21, Y.sub.22, n21, L.sub.21, L.sub.22, a21, a22, R.sub.21, R.sub.22, X.sub.21, X.sub.22, c21, c22 and o21 in Formulae 1 and 2, reference should be made to the specification.