Synthesis and characterization of segmented poly(ether ester amide)s from diglycol, adipic acid, and a nylon‐6 oligomer

This article presents a convenient method for synthesizing segmented poly(ether ester amide)s (PEEAs) by polycondensation and chain extension. A nylon‐6 oligomer prepared from ε‐caprolactam and ethanolamine through ring‐opening polymerization was polymerized with adipic acid and diglycol to prepare PEEA prepolymers (PrePEEAs) with ether linkages and amide contents ranging from 20 to 60 mol%. Chain extension of the PrePEEAs was conducted at 200°C using 2,2′‐(1,4‐phenylene)‐bis(2‐oxazoline) and carbonyl biscaprolactamate as combination chain extenders. The chain‐extended PEEAs (ExtPEEAs) were characterized by viscometry, gel permeation chromatography, FT‐IR, 1 H‐NMR, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, wide angle X‐ray diffraction, and tensile testing. Results show that incorporation of nylon‐6 segments yields semicrystalline ExtPEEAs and that introduction of ether linkages improves the flexibility of the resultant polymers. ExtPEEAs showed T m from 107.6 to 137.3°C, good thermal stability with initial decomposition temperatures above 337.3°C, and tensile strengths of up to 27.4 MPa with strains at break ranging from 231.24 to 1052.52%. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:763–770, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers