Aromatic copolyamides and a process for producing them

Abstract: Linear aromatic copolyamides having good processability, superior thermal stability and excellent mechanical properties are provided which comprises 10-90 mole% of a repeating unit of [NH-R₁-NHCO-Ar-CO] and 90 - 10 mole% of a repeating unti of wherein R₁ and R₂ each is a C₄₋₁₂ aliphatic alkylene and Ar is phenylene, naphthylene or wherein Y is a group which is selected from a group consisting of 1,4-phenylene group, 2,6-naphthylene group, 1,5-naphtylene group, and a process for producing them.

Description: The present invention relates to new linear aromatic copolyamides, and more particularly it relates to melt-moldable linear aromatic copolyamides which have a high glass transition temperature, an excellent thermal resistance and a high elastic modulus and are excellent in molding properties and mechanical strength and a process for producing them. Aliphatic polyamides such as nylon 6 or nylon 6,6 are used in various applications owing to their easy molding properties, but they are, however, inferior in thermal resistance. On the other hand, aromatic polyamides obtained from aliphatic diamines such as hexamethylenediamine and aromatic dicarboxylic acids such as terephthalic acid, notwithstanding their excellent thermal resistance, have a defect that they are impossible to be melt-molded. The object of the present invention is to provide an aromatic copolyamide which is capable of melt-molding and has a superior thermal stability and excellent mechanical properties. The feature of the present invention is a process as defined in claim 1. The condensation reaction can be conducted by a method such as melt condensation or interfacial polycondensation. For example, in the melt condensation method, polymerization is conducted by heatinq an aqueous diamine salt mixture under a gauge pressure of 0.276-1.034 10 6 Pa (40-150 lb/in 2 ) to remove water, maintaining said pressure to prepare a low polymer and then releasing the pressure to raise the temperature up to the melting point of the polymer or more. Also, in the interfacial polycondensation method, an aqueous solution of diamines and an organic solvent solution of an aromatic dicarboxylic acid halide are catalytically reacted in the presence of an acid receptor. As the aqueous medium used for dissolving the diamines, there are usually used water. The concentration of the diamines in said aqueous medium, though it it not critical, is generally in the range of 0.01 - 0.5 mole/ℓ, preferably 0.03 - 0.2 mole/ℓ. Moreover, the aqueous phase preferably contains a neutralizing agent to catch and neutralize hydrogen chloride as a by-product of the polycondensation reaction. Such a neutralizing agent includes hydroxides, carbonates or hydrogen carbonates of alkali metals or alkaline earth metals such as sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, barium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, or sodium hydrogencarbonate , preferably sodium hydroxide. These neutralizing agent can be contained in the aqueous phase generally in a concentration of 0.05 - 1 mole, preferably 0.1 - 0.5 mole. Also, as the aromatic dicarboxylic acid halide and the 2,7-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid, there may be mentioned either the chloride, bromide or fluoride, among which the chloride is preferred. The organic solvents which can be used for dissolving the acid halide components include, for example, halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbons such as dichloromethane, chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethane, or sym-tetrachloroethane, and aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, anisole, chlorobenzene, acetophenone, benzonitrile, or nitrobenzene , among which chloroform and toluene are preferred. The concentration of said naphthalene dicarboxylic acid halide in these solvents is not critical, but the total concentration of the aromatic dicarboxylic acid halide and the 2,7-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid halide are preferably in the range of 0.01 - 0.5 mole/ℓ, particularly 0.03 - 0.2 mole/ℓ. Typical examples of H 2 N-R 1 -NH 2 and H 2 N-R 2 -NH 2 include 1,6-diaminohexane, 1,7-diaminoheptane, 1,8-diaminooctane, 1,6-diamono-2,5-dimethylhexane, 1,6-diamino-2,4-dimethylhexane, 1,6-diamino-3,3-dimethylhexane, 1,6-diamino-2,2-dimethylhexane, 1,9-diaminononane, 1,7-diamino-2,3-dimethylheptane, 1,7-diamino-2,4-dimethyl-heptane, 1,7-diamino-2,5-dimethylheptane, 1,7-diamino-2,2-dimethylheptane, 1,10-diaminodecane, 1,8-diamino-1,3-dimethyloctane, 1,8-diamino-1,4-dimethyloctane, 1,8-diamino-2,4-dimethyloctane, 1,8-diamino-3,4-dimethyloctane, 1,8-diamino-1,5-dimethyloctane, 1,8-diamino-2,2-dimethyloctane, 1,6-diamino-3,3-dimethyloctane, 1,8-diamino-4,4-dimethyloctane, 1,6-diamino-2,4-diethylhexane, 1,11-diaminoundecane, or 1,12-diaminododecane. Among these diamines, there are preferably used 1,6-diaminohexane, 1,8-diaminooctane, 1,10-diaminodecane, 1,12-diaminododecane or a mixture of the two or more of them, particularly 1,6-diaminohexane. The present invention is further specifically explained with reference to examples. Physical properties were measured in accordance with the following methods. Viscosity η inh: A polymer sample (0.1 g) is dissolved in 20 ml of sulfuric acid (0.5 g/dl), and a 10 ml portion of the solution is filled in an Ostwald viscometer, which is placed in a constant temperature bath at 30 °C for measuring the time of falling a ball (t). The measurement is performed with only a solvent in the similar manner (t 0 ). The inherent viscosity is calculated from the following equation: η inh = ln (t/t 0 )/0.5 Note: Viscosity is measured with a viscometer which gives as a measure of the time T 0 ca. 120 seconds. Glass transition temperature (T g ), melting point (T m ) : These temperatures are measured with a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC-Model 20, manufactured by SEIKO DENSHI KOGYO). About 10 mg of a polymer obtained is weighed precisely on an aluminium pan, and the temperature is programmed from 50 °C to 400 °C at a rate of 10 °C/min in a nitrogen gas stream. The peak at the first inflection point is regarded as the glass transition temperature (T g ), and the endothermic peak is regarded as the melting point (T m ). Decomposition temperature : Measurement is conducted with a differential thermal and thermogravimetric analyzer (T g /DTA-Model 20, manufactured by SEIKO DENSHI KOGYO). About 10 mg of a polymer obtained is weighed precisely on a platinum pan. The temperature is programmed at a rate of 10 °C/min in an air gas stream, and a temperature at which 10 % of the weight of the polymer has been decreased is regarded as the decomposition temperature of it. Tensile strength, elongation and tensile modulus : Measurements are conducted with RTM-25rtm (manufactured by TOYO BOLDWIN CO.) in accordance with ASTM-D822-83. A film is cut into a size of 120 mm in length and 100 mm in width. The both ends with a distance of 10 mm of the test piece are fixed with and bonded to papers, and thickness is measured at five points to calculate the average of the five thicknesses as the thickness. The test piece is gripped with tester jaws, of which the distance is set to 100 mm. The load-elongation curve is recorded on applying a load 10 kg at a tensile rate of 50 mm/min to calculate the tensile strength and the elongation from the following equation: Tensile strength (kgf/mm 2 ) = Akgf/sectional area mm 2 , Elongation (%) = 100(L mm - 100 mm)/100 mm. A: Maximum load in the curve above. L: Maximum length in the curve above. A film is cut into a size of 270 mm in length and 10 mm in width. The both ends with a distance of 10 mm of the test piece are fixed with and bonded to papers, and thickness is measured at five points to calculate the average of the five thicknesses as the thickness. The test piece is gripped with tester jaws, of which the distance is set to 250 mm. The load-elongation curve is recorded on applying a load 10 kg at a tensile rate of 25 mm/min to calculate the tensile modulus: Tensile modulus (kgf/mm 2 ) = Bkgf·250/sectional area mm 2 . B: Load necessary to elongate. Example 1 A 0.1 mole aqueous sodium hydroxide solution (160 ml) was placed into a three-necked flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer, and 1.164 g of hexamethylenediamine (10 mmole) and 0.6 g of sodium laurylsulfate were added to and dissolved into the solution. To the solution thus obtained was added at a time a solution of 1.265 g (5 mmole) of 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid dichloride and 1.265 (5 mmole) of 2,7-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid dichloride in chloroform with stirring, and the whole mixture was stirred at a stirring speed of 800 rpm for 10 minutes. The polymerization solution was then poured into acetone to deposit the polymer, which was separated by filtration, washed sufficiently with hot water and dried under a reduced pressure. A 3 g portion of the polymer thus obtained was dissolved completely into 20 ml of m-cresol, and the solution was cast over a glass plate, of which the surface had been cleaned, with a glass rod. The glass plate is kept horizontal in a vacuum dryer and dried at room temperature for 12 hours, at 10 °C for 12 hours, at 150 °C for 24 hours and further at 200 °C for 24 hours to form a film. The inherent viscosity η inh, the glass transition temperature T g , the melting point, the thermal degradation temperature, the tensile strength, the elongation and the tensile modulus of polymers are summarized in Tables 2 and 3. Examples 2 and 4, Comparative Examples 1 - 4 Reactions in Examples 2 and 4 and Comparative Examples 1 - 4 were conducted in accordance with Example 1 with use of the amounts of the starting materials as described in Table 1. Example 1 2,6-NDC 50 % 2,7-NDC 50 % Hexamethylenediamine 100 % Example 2 2,6-NDC 30 % 2,7-NDC 70 % Hexamethylenediamine 100 % Comparative Example 4 2,7-NDC 50 % TPC 50 % Hexamethylenediamine 100 % Example 4 2,6-NDC 50 % 2,7-NDC 50 % Decamethylenediamine 100 % Comparative Example 1 TPC 50 % IPC 50 % Hexamethylenediamine 100 % Comparative Example 2 IPC 100 % Hexamethylenediamine 100 % Compartive Example 3 2,6-NDC 100 % Hexamethylenediamine 100 % The aromatic copolyamide of the present invention has a high glass transition temperature and has superior thermal stability and is capable of melt molding. Moreover, it has a high strength and a high modulus of elasticity and thus can be used for a wide range of applications such as molded articles, film, fiber, paint, adhesive. When the aromatic copolyamide of the present invention is intended to be used for these applications, it can be incorporated with reinforcing agents such as a glass fiber, a carbon fiber or asbestos, or additives such as a filling agent, a nucleating agent, a flame retardant, a pigment, an antioxidant, a heat stabilizer, an ultraviolet light absorber, a color protecting agent, a plasticizer, a lubricant or a mold release agent, or it can be also kneaded with the other thermoplastic resins.

Claims: A process for producing an aromatic copolyamide which consists of 10-90 mole % of a repeating unit represented by the following formula: and 90-10 mole % of a repeating unit represented by the following formula: wherein R 1 and R 2 each is a group which is independently selected from a group consisting of aliphatic alkylene groups having 4-12 carbon atoms, said process comprising allowing an aqueous solution of one or more aliphatic diamines, represented by the formulae H 2 N-R 1 -NH 2 and H 2 N-R 2 -NH 2 to react with a solution of (a) 2,7-naphtalene dicarboxylic acid halide in an organic solvent which is mixable with the aqueous solution characterized in that the solution of (a) 2,7-naphtalene dicarboxylic acid halide comprises also (b) 2,6-naphtalene dicarboxylic acid halide, the ratio of (a) : (b) being in the range 90-10 mol % : 90-10 mol % and the aqueous solution of diamines comprises sodium lauryl sulfate. A process according to claim 1, characterized in that concentration of the diamines in the aqueous solution is in the range of 0.01-0.5 mol/l, preferably 0.03-0.2 mol/l. A process according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the organic solvent is selected from the group of halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons. A process according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the total concentrations of (a) and (b) in the organic solvent are in the range of 0.01-0.5 mole/l, particularly 0.03-0.2 mol/l. A process according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the aqueous solution contains a neutralizing agent. A process according to claim 5, wherein the neutralizing agent to catch and neutralize hydrogen chloride as a by product of the polycondensation reaction is one of the following; sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, barium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, sodium hydrogen carbonate. A process according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the concentration of the neutralizing agent in the aqueous solution is in the range of 0.05-1 mole, preferably 0.1-0.5 mole. A process according to any of claim 1 to 7, characterized in that the reaction of the aqueous solution with the solution of (a) and (b) is carried out by the interfacial polycondensation method. A process according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the organic solvent is selected from the group of dichloromethane chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethane, syn. tetrachloroethane, benzene, toluene, anisole, chlorobenzene, acetophenone, benzonitrile and nitrobenzene. A process according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the organic solvent is selected from the group of chloroform and toluene. A process according to claim 6, wherein the neutralizing agent is sodium hydroxide.

Inventors: KOIDE SHUNICHI, KOIDE, SHUNICHI, KOIDE, SHUNICHI C/O SHOWA SHELL
Applicants: SHOWA SHELL SEKIYU, SHOWA SHELL SEKIYU KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1991
Main classification: C08G69
IPC codes: C08G69