The synthesis and structural characterization
of various aromatic–aliphatic
polyamides are reported in this study. The polymers are obtained by
solution polymerization of p-phenylenediamine with
various aliphatic diacid chlorides. The resulting polyamides are labeled
PA P-X, where X varies between 5
and 10 and corresponds to the number of carbon atoms of the dicarboxylic
acid monomers used in the synthesis. The polyamides are obtained with M
n values of 10 kg/mol or higher, as determined
by solution NMR spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography (GPC).
The polymers PA P-5 to PA P-8 degrade prior to melting, whereas only
PA P-10 shows melting on heating. The structural changes in the polymers,
with increasing methylene segments, are investigated by X-ray diffraction
and molecular modeling. Conformational changes as a function of temperature
have been studied by solid-state NMR spectroscopy. These studies have
been illustrative in following the phase transformations in the aromatic–aliphatic
polymers. For the crystal packing of the polymer based on the odd
acid (PA P-5) a sheetlike structure, similar to that of the aromatic
polyamide PPTA, is observed. Despite the presence of the odd spacer,
PA P-5 exhibits a hydrogen bonding length very similar to that of
PPTA, whereas the intersheet distance increases and the interchain
distance decreases. As a result, the crystal structure of PA P-5 is
distinctively different from that of the aliphatic polyamides having
the same odd diacid, e.g. PA 65. In contrast, the crystal packing
of PA P-6 with even diacid is similar to that of the α form
of PA 46. The change of the chemical shift of the carbonyl groups
with increasing number of methylene units suggests a weakening in
the hydrogen bonding with respect to PPTA. For PA P-10 this weakening
ultimately translates to melting of the polymer prior to degradation.