DILACTAMATE Katchem

Packaging:  50 kg barrels

DILACTAMATE, sodium dicaprolactamato-bis(2-methoxyethoxo) aluminate of the formula NaAl [N(CH2)5CO]2 (OCH2CH2OCH3)2 has proved useful as initiator of anionic polymerization and copolymerization of lactams. One of its main advantages over other types of initiator is that it makes polymerization reactions substantially less sensitive to moisture of caprolactame and its purity. This offers new possibilities of improving the efficiency of polymerization technologies. The reaction mixture for polymerization is obtained simply by dissolving the initiator in fused monomer. DILACTAMATE is commercially available in the form of a toluene solution (the minimum content of active compound, 81%) and is therefore easy to handle and dose.

The use of DILACTAMATE permits the production process to be substantially simplified, thus saving the manpower, raw material and energy

Composition           
82% ± 1% sodium dicaprolactamato-bis(2-methoxyethoxo)aluminate
NaAl[ N(CH₂)₅CO] ₂ (OCH₂CH₂OCH₃)₂
16% ± 1% toluene
3% ± 1% 6-caprolactam

Physical properties

Application
DILACTAMATE initiates anionic polymerization of lactams in a wide range of temperatures.
The use of DILACTAMATE affords a nearly wasteless technology of polyamide-6 casting by direct polymerization of 6-caprolactam in stationary or rotating moulds. Castings of any size and shape can be made. The polymerization mixture is conveniently prepared at 140-150oC and DILACTAMATE is added just before transferring the reaction mixture into a pre-heated mould. The choice of the mould temperature depends on casting size and on the composition of the catalytic mixture, the kind of activator used (e.g. isocyanates, N-aroyl and N-acetyl lactams), the initiator/activator ratio and the absolute concentrations all being important considerations. Most frequently, the temperature ranges between 160 and 170oC. Under these conditions, the polymerization process takes from several minutes to tens of minutes. The temperation of the castings is carried out by a common way. At a moisture content up to 0.03 mass % and an initiator/activator ratio of 1, the appropriate DILACTAMATE concentrations are near 0.3 mol %.

Main advantages
- the initiator DILACTAMATE, which also serves as drying agent, allows to use technical caprolactam
  (water content up to 0,03 wt%) as starting material for production of polyamide.
- offered technology does not require any special machinery
- quality of the product obtained by offered method is comparable to quality of polyamide produced by more  
   demanding technology.

Contact:

Jiří Fusek, Ph.D., fusek@katchem.cz, Tel.: +420 728 606 144             Top of page