Formation of Commercial Nylon 6

Overview

Nylon polymers produced in the laboratory usually have poor properties in comparison to commercial nylon fibers. Fibers produced by this reaction show impressive strength.

Materials

10 g Caprolactum

0.5 g Polyoxyethylene (MW weight 2000-7500 daltons)

3-5 drops of N-Acetylcaprolactum

Test Tube

Bunsen Burner

Test Tube Holder

5g Sodium Hydride

Procedure

    1. Put the caprolactum, polyoxyethylene and N-acetylcaprolactum in a test tube.
    2. Heat the mixture above a one-inch flame while moving the test tube in and out of the flame.
    3. Add the sodium hydride to the melted mixture. Make sure that all of the sodium hydride has reacted by carefully tilting the test tube to contact any powder that might be clinging to the side.
    4. Heat this mixture for an additional 2-4 minutes until there is an apparent increase in melt viscosity.
    5. Draw fibers by dipping a glass rod into the polymer and rapidly pulling out the solidifying material.

Discussion

Once polymerization is complete, fibers can be drawn up to 75 to 100 ft. long. These fibers will stretch under tension to complete the polymer orientation which will result in a tough material similar to commercial nylon thread or fishing line. Nylons are also called polyamides because the repeat unit contains the amide group. They are a class of polymers that are formed by reaction between an amine and acid groups.

Nylon 6 can be produced in bulked continuos filament carpet fibers for carpet and automotive markets. It can also be made into textile fibers for use in apparel, automotive, upholstery, and industrial applications.

References

    1. Carraher, C.E. Jr., "Journal of Chemical Education", 1978, 55, 51.
    2. Allcock, H.R. and Lampe, F.W., Contemporary Polymer Chemistry. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1981. pp. 128-129.
    3. "Textile World", 1997,147,62+
    4. Kumar, Anil and Gupta, Rakesh, Fundamentals of Polymers. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1998, p.92