Study on polymerization kinetics of copolymerized flame-retardant polyamide 66: Apparent rate constant and reaction activation energy

The research of polymerization kinetics and reaction mechanism on flame-retardant polyamide 66 (FRPA66) is of great significance for its industrial production. Here, FRPA66 is prepared by one-step melt polycondensation of nylon 66 salt and a reactive flame retardant DPDA. By exploring the relationship of viscosity-average molecular weight versus reaction time at different polymerization stages, the apparent rate constant of FRPA66 is calculated to be 41.8 dL g−1s−1. Besides, molecular simulation analysis demonstrates that the reaction activation energy of DPDA and nylon 66 salt in pre-polymerization stage is 312.04 kcal/mol, indicating that the pre-polymerization time can be extended to make up for the lack of pre-polymerization power of FRPA66. In the final polymerization stage, reasonable control of releasing pressure and polymerization time can promote the self-condensation of a small part of DPDA, thus improving the molecular weight of FRPA66. Finally, based on the polymerization kinetic and reaction mechanism, FRPA66 containing 5% DPDA can reach V-0 level.