Aromatic polyamides, step-growth

Nearly all of the polymers produced by step-growth polymerization contain heteroatoms and/or aromatic rings in the backbone. One exception is polymers produced from acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polymerization.22 Hydrocarbon polymers with carbon-carbon double bonds are readily produced using ADMET polymerization techniques. Polyesters, polycarbonates, polyamides, and polyurethanes can be produced from aliphatic monomers with appropriate functional groups (Fig. 1.1). In these aliphatic polymers, the concentration of the linking groups (ester, carbonate, amide, or urethane) in the backbone greatly influences the physical properties. 

Figure 5.21. Reaction schemes for the most common types of step-growth polymerization. Shown are (a/c) polyester formation, (b/d) polyamide formation, (e) polyamide formation through reaction of an acid chloride with a diamine, (f) transesterification involving a carboxylic acid ester and an alcohol, (g) polybenzimidazole formation through condensation of a dicarboxyhc add and aromatic tetramines, and (h) polyimide formation from the reaction of dianhydrides and diamines.

Step-growth polymers are made by combining two molecules with reactive functional groups at each end. Nylon is a polyamide. Aramides are aromatic polyamides. Dacron is a polyester. 

It was,and still is, a purpose of our work to illustrate the synthetic potential of "a-b monomers" in the field of aromatic polyethers, polyesters and polyamides (concentrating on polyesters in the present contribution). The preparation of star-shaped and hyperbranched polycondensates is plagued by side-reactions resulting in crosslinks, and thus, clean step-growth processes are a basic requirement for a successfid synthesis. In this connection the potential of silicon mediated polycondensations should be explored, because polycondensations of silylated monomers may be a cleaner process than that of the corresponding nonsilylated (protonated) monomers, for instance, because proton catalyzed side reactions, such as the Fries-rear-rangement, are avoided. 

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