Polymerization of lactams, 95 Preparation of polyesteramides by the anionic polymerization of ε-caprolactam in the presence of poly(ε-caprolactone)

Preparation of polyesteramides–poly[(ε-caprolactam)-co-(ε-caprolactone)]s by anionic polymerization of ε-caprolactam in the presence of poly(ε-caprolactone) at 150 °C was studied in this paper. ε-Caprolactam magnesium bromide was used as an initiator of polymerization and polymeric materials containing 5–25 wt% ε-caprolactone units were obtained. Thermal methods (DSC and DMA) were employed for characterization of poly[(ε-caprolactam)-co-(ε-caprolactone)]s and their mechanical properties were also evaluated. By introducing the activator with N-acyllactam structure, the polymerization rate increased and it was possible to carry out the polymerization at 110 °C. Mechanical properties of polyesteramides were influenced by both the content of ε-caprolactone units incorporated into copolymer and polymerization temperature. The mechanism of incorporation of poly(ε-caprolactone) is discussed. The results show that it is not possible to restrict exchange transacylation reactions, progressing in the course of polymerization, by kinetic tools.