Block polymers from isocyanate‐terminated intermediates. II. Preparation of butadiene–ϵ‐caprolactam and styrene–ϵ‐caprolactam block polymers

Abstract

Abstract Polystyrene–nylon 6 and polybutadiene–nylon 6 block copolymers have been prepared from isocyanate‐terminated prepolymers. From extraction and fractionation data the products obtained were found to be mixtures of both homopolymers and pure block copolymer. The polybutadiene–nylon 6 copolymers are extremely pliable at ambient temperatures even at high ϵ‐caprolactam contents (70–80 wt‐%). This is true even though these copolymers show a crystalline melting point at 213°C similar to poly‐ϵ‐caprolactam. Presumably this unusual behavior occurs because of the nature of the synthesis which renders the butadiene portion of these copolymers the continuous phase. Plasticity measurements indicate that pliability is dependent on the molecular weight of the block poly‐ϵ‐caprolactam.