Recent Advances in the Synthesis and Analysis of Polyamide 6 and Products therefrom: From Polymerization Chemistry of εcaprolactam to Thermoplastic Resin Transfer Moulding (t-rtm)
JUNIPER PUBLISHERS- ACADEMIC JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE Abstract Significant research and developments are taking place in the field of synthetic polyamides (Nylons). One of the most investigated members of this family of polymers is poly (ε-caprolactam) (PCL, Polyamide 6, PA6, Nylon 6). Herein, a brief overview will be presented on the major recent advancements in the anionic ringopening polymerization (AROP) of ε-caprolactam (CL) by the initiating combinations of metal lactamates and carbamoylcaprolactams and by some other initiating systems, e.g. protected N-heterocyclic carbenes , NaHMDI and σ-borane-barium complexes. The in situ polymerization of CL in the presence of additives, such as flame retardants, reinforcing agents and fillers, is also discussed. Examples are presented on the determination of the molecular weight distributions (MWD) and average molecular weights of Polyamide 6 by GPC (SEC) measurements with 1,1,1-trifluoroethanol as eluent used routinely...