Bio-polyamides based on renewable raw materials

Joanna Pagacz,Krzysztof Pielichowski,Konstantinos N. Raftopoulos,Agnieszka Leszczyńska

doi:10.1007/s10973-015-4929-x

Abstract

Structural characterization of a series of novel bio-polyamides based on renewable raw materials—PA 4.10, PA 6.10, PA 10.10, and PA 10.12—was performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). Infrared spectra and the WAXD patterns indicate the coexistence of different crystalline forms, α- and γ-triclinic and β-pseudohexagonal. Thermal properties in the glass transition (T g) and melting region were then investigated using temperature-modulated DSC (TOPEM® DSC). The melting point (T m) was found to increase with increasing amide/methylene ratio in the polymer backbone, which is consistent with the increase in linear density of hydrogen bonds. Studies on the molecular dynamics by dynamic mechanical analysis show three distinct regions associated with the γ- and the β-relaxation and the dynamic glass transition. TOPEM® DSC data reveal that at low frequency/long timescales, the materials with significantly different amide/methylene ratios have similar segmental dynamics.

Highlights

Biopolymers produced from renewable raw materials provide an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional petroleum-based polymers and exhibit new interesting properties, such as low water uptake, high mechanical resistance, high melting point, and crystallization rate [1,2,3,4]
Structural characterization of a series of novel bio-polyamides based on renewable raw materials—PA 4.10, PA 6.10, PA 10.10, and PA 10.12—was performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and wideangle X-ray diffraction (WAXD)
Concluding, we found that for polyamides used in this study, three crystal phases coexist at room temperature, except PA 6.10, where only the more perfect a-phase and the pseudohexagonal b-phase are present

Summary

Introduction

Biopolymers produced from renewable raw materials provide an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional petroleum-based polymers and exhibit new interesting properties, such as low water uptake, high mechanical resistance, high melting point, and crystallization rate [1,2,3,4]. Vegetable oils derived from inedible or toxic plants are good alternative chemical feedstock due to their reactivity (numerous active chemical sites) and biocompatibility. They are vastly used for polyurethanes and epoxies; durable biothermoplastics, such as biopolyamides (bio-PAs), based on renewable sources have high growth potential as they show promising mechanical and thermal properties [5,6,7]. Bio-polyamides are synthesized from two or more monomers or comonomers, which belong to amino acid, cyclic amide (lactam), dicarboxylic acid, and diamine families. Among most known biomonomers are 11-aminoundecanoic acid and sebacic acid produced by conversion of ricinoleic acid derived from castor oil—Scheme 1

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