Nylon-6 and Other Aliphatic Polyamides

Nylon-6,6 was and is mainly used as a fiber [1], above all, for the production of carpets and sports goods including clothes for outdoor activities. However, 

Kricheldorf, Polycondensation, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-39429-4 6, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014 

Data taken from Ref. [3] Data taken from Ref. [4] Data taken from Ref. [5] Data taken from Ref. [6] 

Another high melting polyamide fiber, Nylon-4,6 was commercialized after 1990 by DSM in Europe under the trademark Stanyl . The attractive properties of this polymer were known since the days of Carothers [6-9], but due to the high Tm (around 300 °C) it proved to be impossible to prepare a high molar mass polymer without discoloration by polycondensation in the melt. In the 1970s Caymans et al. [10]. elaborated a successful, two-step procedure. At first a prepolymer is produced in water under pressure at 200-215 °C. The second step 

Two more polyamides based on co-amino acids were introduced into the markets after 1955, namely Nylon-11 (1955) and Nylon-12 (1966) [17]. Nylon-11 is produced by melt polycondensation of 11-amino undecanoic acid, which is 

---