Polyamides based on the renewable monomer, 1,13-tridecane diamine I: synthesis and characterization of nylon 13,T

Nylon 13,T was successfully synthesized, and its chemical composition, thermal properties, crystal structure and moisture absorption were characterized. Melting temperature and glass transition temperature were deter-mined to be 263 and 90°C, respectively, while the equilibrium melting temperature was determined to be 289°C. Characterization of the crystallization kinetics showed that nylon 13,T exhibits very fast crystallization compared with the industrially important nylons, nylon 6 and nylon 6,6. In addition, the moisture absorption of nylon 13,T was dramatically lower than nylon 6 and nylon 6,6, which is consistent with the much lower amide content of nylon 13,T. The crystal structure was determined to be pseudohexagonal.