| Abstract: | Polycondensation reactions of hydroxyl diesters such as dimethyl tartrate (DMT) and diethyl mucate (DEM) with hexamethylenediamine (HMD) were carried out in the presence of poly(vinyl pyridine) (P-VPy) and its copolymers with styrene of different compositions as matrix polymers in order to investigate the difference in interaction forces with monomers or the resulting polyamides owing to hydrogen bonding. It was found that matrix effects of poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P-4VPy) on the rate enhancement and solution viscosity of the resulting polyamide became more pronounced with decreasing solvent polarity. This result suggests that the matrix effects of P-4VPy on polycondensation are due to hydrogen bonding interactions between hydroxyl diesters and P-4VPy. The addition of P-4VPy increased the molecular weight of the resulting polyamide to a higher extent than poly(2-vinyl pyridine) (P-2VPy), and the molecular weight of the resulting polyamide could be controlled according to the molecular weight of P-4VPy. Copolymer composition of 4-vinyl pyridine–styrene (4VPy/St) copolymers as matrix polymers also affected the molecular weight of the polyamide, which increased with increasing P-4VPy unit contents in the copolymers. |
