| Abstract: | A novel process for synthesizing nylon‐6 and poly(?‐caprolactone) by microwave irradiation of the respective monomers, ?‐caprolactam and ?‐caprolactone, is described. The ring opening of ?‐caprolactam to produce nylon‐6 was performed in a microwave oven by the forward power being controlled to about 90–135 W in the presence of an ω‐aminocaproic acid catalyst (10 mol %) and for periods of 1–3 h at temperatures varying from 250 to 280 °C. The ring opening of ?‐caprolactone to produce poly(?‐caprolactone) was performed in a microwave oven by the forward power being controlled to about 70–100 W for a period of 2 h in the presence of stannous octoate with and without 1,4‐butanediol over a temperature range of 150–200 °C. The yields, conditions of the reactions, and properties of the products generated relative to the thermal processes are discussed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 2264–2275, 2002 |
