| Abstract: | ![]()
It was desired to determine the effect of geometric configuration on the ability of 4-aminomethylcyclohexanecarboxylic acid (AMCC) to “isomorphously” replace ε-aminocaproic acid residues in nylon 6. However, we found that cis-AMCC isomerized to the more thermodynamically stable trans isomer during copolymerization with caprolactam (CL) and also during homopolymerization. A 20/80 cis/trans ratio of AMCC residues was found in the 50:50 copolyamides regardless of whether a high-cis (72/28) or high-trans (15/85) AMCC was used. Powder x-ray diagrams showed similar interplanar spacings for the copolyamides made from both high-cis and high-trans AMCC. The x-ray study also showed that the nylon 6 lattice can accommodate less than 30 mole-% AMCC residues before a new structure appears. DTA and TGA data of the CL:AMCC copolyamide showed that AMCC raised the melting point, Tg, Tc, and stability of nylon 6. |
