Die polymerisation der lactame VI. Die copolymerisation von 6-caprolactam und 8-capryllactam

The process of incorporating 6-caprolactam and 8-capryllactam into polymer chains was studied during the hydrolytic, cationic, and anionic copolymerization in the case of equimolar ratio of the above mentioned monomers. At the beginning of the hydrolytic copolymerization at temperatures between 200 and 260°C, 6-caprolactam was more rapidly incorporated into the chains. Decreasing temperature led to a decrease in the total rate of polymerization with increasing difference between rates of incorporating the two components. Contrary to this, at the initial stage of the cationic copolymerization, the incorporation of 8-capryllactam was faster by orders of magnitude than that of 6-caprolactam, the changes of the copolymer composition being independent of temperature. Under the conditions of interest, in the course of the anionic copolymerization the two monomers were characterized with the same rates of incorporation into the polymer chains. Different melting points of products separated at various stages of the copolymerization process corresponded to the above mentioned differences in rates of incorporating individual monomers into polymer chains when different reaction mechanisms were employed.