Anionic polymerization of lactams : A comparative study on various methods of measuring the conversion of ε-caprolactam to polyamide 6

L.-F. Feng (1) , C.-L. Zhang (1, 2) , G.-H. Hu (1)

1 LSGC - Laboratoire des Sciences du Génie Chimique
2 State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering

Anionic ring-opening polymerization of lactams leads to the formation of poly(lactams) or polyamides. This work aimed at comparing the performance of four methods for measuring the conversion of e-caprolactam (CL) to polyamide 6. The latter was either a homopolymer (PA6) or grafts onto polystyrene (PS-g-PA6 graft copolymer). Those four methods were mass balance based on solvent extraction (methanol, water, THF, or acetone), mass balance based on vacuum drying at 140°C, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and elemental analysis based on nitrogen. The mass balances based on methanol extraction and vacuum drying at 140°C and TGA were all suitable for measuring the conversion of CL, whether the resulting polymer was the PA6 or PS-g-PA6. The mass balance based on water extraction was good for the PA6 and not good for the PS-g-PA6. The elemental analysis based on nitrogen was not suitable for the PA6 nor for the PS-g-PA6.

Mots clés: Aliphatic polymer; Experimental study; Comparative study; Elementary analysis; Drying; Thermogravimetry; Solvent extraction; Measurement method; Conversion rate; Kinetics; Grafting; Graft copolymer; Caprolactam copolymer; Styrene polymer; Initiator polymer; Styrene copolymer; Ring opening polymerization; Amide 6 polymer; Anionic polymerization

Domaines: Génie des procédés

L.-F. Feng, C.-L. Zhang, G.-H. Hu. Anionic polymerization of lactams : A comparative study on various methods of measuring the conversion of ε-caprolactam to polyamide 6. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2006, 101 (3), pp.1972-1981. ⟨hal-00281194⟩