Mathematical Modeling of Nylon 6/6,6 Copolymerization in Batch Reactor: Investigating Recipes without Water and with Cyclic Dimer

A model is used to simulate batch copolymerization of caprolactam with hexamethylene diamine (HMD) and adipic acid (ADA) to produce nylon 6/6,6. Four different recipes are considered: a recipe containing caprolactam and an aqueous solution of HMD and ADA, a recipe containing caprolactam and dry HMD/ADA salt, and two recipes with a portion of the caprolactam replaced by nylon 6 cyclic dimer (CD). Consuming CD would be advantageous because CD is an undesirable side product from nylon 6 production. Simulation results lead to three important findings: (i) operation using dry salt rather than aqueous salt solution leads to higher degree of polymerization, (ii) substantial quantities of CD can be consumed to produce nylon 6/6,6 copolymer, and (iii) including water in the recipe is beneficial for achieving improved consumption of CD. The results of this study will be helpful in designing experiments aimed at improving industrial nylon 6/6,6 copolymerization processes.     

尼龙1010在水润滑下的摩擦学特性与磨损机理

利用往复式摩擦磨损试验机，研究了尼龙１０１０在水润滑条件下与Ａ３钢对摩时的摩擦学特性，同时还利用扫描电子显微镜，付里叶变换红外光谱仪和Ｘ射线光电能谱仪，分别对试样磨损表面和磨屑的形貌及化学结构进行了显微观察与分析。结果表明：在给定的试验条件于干摩擦过程中的高约１个数量级，在水润滑条件下，尼龙１０１０的磨损机理除有干摩擦时的机械微切削外，还由于这种尼龙分子中酰胺基的水解和水分子的作用，削弱了尼龙表层     

Grafting of 4‐Vinyl Pyridine onto Nylon‐6 Initiated by Cu(III)

In this article, the graft copolymerization of 4‐vinyl pyridine (4VP) onto nylon‐6 (PA6) using potassium diperiodacuprate (III) (DPC)–PA6 redox system as initiator is investigated in an alkaline medium. The structure and the properties of graft copolymer are confirmed by Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (IR), X‐ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The mechanism is proposed to explain the generation of radicals and the initiation. The effects of reaction variables, such as the initiator concentration, ratio of 4VP to PA6, pH, as well as reaction temperature and time are investigated. Graft copolymers with high grafting efficiency (>95%) were obtained, which indicated that the DPC–PA6 redox system was an efficient initiator for this graft copolymerization. The quaternized PA6‐g‐P4VP (QPAVP) is proven to be an excellent adsorbent to heavy metal ions.     

Toward computational design of efficient plasticizers for nylon

Polyamides are semi‐crystalline polymers useful in a wide range of applications in the plastics industry. Some applications require higher flexibility and workability of the polyamides. Therefore, plasticizers are added to ease compounding and processing procedures and produce the desired product properties. The goal of the present study was to use computational tools to estimate plasticizer efficiency in plasticizing nylon 66/6. It is known that plasticizer efficiency is greatly influenced by structural effects of the plasticizer and the nature of the polymer, and therefore in this research, a systematic study is reported to explore these factors. A homology series of esters of 4‐hydroxybenzoate with various chain lengths of the alcohol moiety was examined. Also, the efficiency of linear plasticizers was compared to branched ones and stereoisomers were considered. Plasticizer efficiency was determined by calculating cohesive energy density (CED), solubility parameters, free volume and interaction intensities of pristine nylon and the nylon–plasticizer blends. It was found that plasticizer efficiency of esters with linear alcohol moiety is higher than branched chains. Whereas plasticizer efficiency increases when the branched side chain is more bulky, no coherent trend was observed for the linear side chain of the alcohol moiety. Surprisingly, a significant difference was observed between the pair of enantiomers. The most efficient plasticizer of the eight examined was the chiral molecule (R)‐2‐Methylbutyl‐4‐Hydroxybenzoate (R‐MB4HB), increasing the free volume of the nylon by 60‐fold (3‐fold greater than the original Methyl 4‐Hydroxybenzoate (M4HB)). Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improved Kinetic Rate Constants for Nylon 6, Nylon 6,6, and Nylon 6/6,6 Copolymer

Nylon 6 and 6,6 literature data are collected over a wide range of water concentrations and temperatures (0 ≤ [W]₀ ≤ 40.8 wt%, 200 ≤ T ≤300 °C) and used to fit parameters in an updated batch reactor model. The resulting copolymerization model uses side reactions to account for the complex influence of water on kinetics and reaction equilibria. The proposed parameter estimates result in a significant improvement in the fit to the data, corresponding to a 73% reduction in the weighted‐least‐squares objective function compared to when the parameters of Arai et al. are used. Copolymerization simulations are conducted at industrially relevant conditions, shedding light on the complex influence of water and on the potential to include waste nylon 6 cyclic dimer in the feedstock. The model and parameter estimates will be helpful in future models of nylon 6/6,6 copolymerization in continuous reactor systems.     

On the induced‐fit mechanism of substrate‐enzyme binding structures of nylon‐oligomer hydrolase

We present a detailed computational investigation of the induced‐fit motion in a nylon‐oligomer hydrolase (NylB) upon substrate binding. To this aim, we resort on the recently introduced parallel cascade selection molecular dynamics approach, allowing for an accelerated access to the set of conformational changes from an open‐ to a closed‐state structure to form the enzyme‐substrate complex in a specific induce‐fit mechanism. The structural investigation is quantitatively complemented by free energy analyses within the umbrella sampling algorithm accompanied by weighted histogram analysis. We find that the stabilization free energy is about 1.4 kcal/mol, whereas the highest free energy barrier to be overcome is about 2.3 kcal/mol. Conversely, the energetic contribution for the substrate binding is about 20 kcal/mol, as estimated from Generalized Born/Surface Area. This means that the open‐close induced‐fit motion could occur frequently once the substrate binds to the open state of NylB. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

尼龙6/蒙脱土纳米复合材料非等温结晶动力学和透明性研究

将有机化的蒙脱土与尼龙6(PA6)在Haake共混机中共混,制备出尼龙6/蒙脱土纳米复合材料(PA6N);对尼龙6/蒙脱土纳米复合材料和纯尼龙6分别进行差示扫描量热法非等温结晶试验,以了解蒙脱土在尼龙6/蒙脱土纳米复合材料中的成核作用、扩大尼龙6在包装领域的应用范围.与此同时,采用偏光显微镜测定了样品的结晶形态;采用紫...     

填充聚四氟乙烯对尼龙6摩擦磨损性能影响的研究

用Timken试验机考察了热压成形的PTFE填充尼龙6在干摩擦状态下的摩擦磨损性能及PTFE填充量、滑动速度和负荷对摩擦磨损的影响,并用X-光电子能谱仪(XPS)和电子探针(EPMA)研究了金属偶件摩擦表面转移膜的组成与形貌。结果表明,在给定的试验条件下,填充PTFE能够有效地改善尼龙6的摩擦磨损性能,PTFE的填充量在8～20％(vol)之间时的效果较好,8％PTFE填充尼龙6的PV值可比纯尼龙6的高1倍;填充PTFE的效用主要取决于转移膜的特性和PTFE在转移膜中的富集量。     

溶胶-凝胶技术在织物化学镀活化预处理中的应用

以γ-氨丙基三乙氧基硅烷(KH-550)为先驱体,应用溶胶-凝胶技术在织物表面形成一层凝胶薄膜.由于该薄膜含有氨基和羟基等活性基团,能与钯离子起配位络合作用,阻止钯粒子的团聚,使钯以较高的活性完成织物化学镀.扫描探针显微镜(SPM)及扫描电子显微镜(SEM)观察了施镀前后织物的表面形态.与传统的前处理相比,无需SnCl2敏化,减少污染,缩短工艺流程,降低钯盐用量.