2-Imidazolidinone (ethylene urea) is widely utilized across various industries due to its unique chemical properties and structural characteristics. Below are its primary application scenarios:

1. Formaldehyde Scavenger
   2-Imidazolidinone exhibits a high affinity for formaldehyde, enabling it to rapidly react with formaldehyde and form stable, non-toxic compounds. This effectively reduces the concentration of free formaldehyde in the environment. As a highly efficient formaldehyde scavenger or trapping agent, it is commonly used in indoor air purification, as well as in furniture, building materials, automotive interiors, and other products that may contain or release formaldehyde.

2. Cosmetics and Personal Care Products
   2-Imidazolidinone can serve as an alternative preservative component in certain cosmetics and personal care products, reducing or eliminating reliance on traditional formaldehyde-releasing preservatives and providing safer formulation options.

3. Pharmaceutical Industry
   As an important organic synthetic intermediate, 2-imidazolidinone is used in the preparation of various pharmaceuticals. Its high reactivity and ease of derivatization make it an ideal starting material or linker for constructing complex drug molecules. In drug formulations, 2-imidazolidinone can participate in the formation of water-soluble or water-insoluble polymer backbones, facilitating the design of controlled-release drug delivery systems.

4. Chemical Additives
   In certain specialty resin systems, 2-imidazolidinone can function as a curing agent, promoting cross-linking reactions to enhance the hardness, heat resistance, chemical resistance, and mechanical strength of cured resins. In the textile dyeing industry, it can be used as a dye-fixing auxiliary to improve the binding force between dyes and fibers, thereby increasing color fastness.