Polyamide Fiber

Polyamide
Polyamides are polymers which contain recurring
amide groups as integral parts of the polymer
backbone.
– CO – NH –
Amide Group

Naturally occurring polyamides include the protein

fibers e.g. silk and wool. Synthetic polyamide
fibers form one of the most important of all classes
of textile fiber, which we know today as nylon.
Two types of Polyamide Fiber
Aromatic polyamide fiber
Aliphatic polyamide fiber
 Aromatic Polyamide
A manufactured fiber in which the fiber forming
substance is a long chain synthetic polyamide in which at
least 85 percent of the amide linkages (-CO-NH-) are
attached directly to two aromatic rings. Example-Aramid

The first fiber of this class to be developed was Nomex

from DuPont. This yarn is of only medium tenacity, but is
non-flammable and widely used for the production of
fireproof clothing, etc.
 Aliphatic Polyamide
A manufactured fiber in which the fiber forming substance is a
long chain synthetic polyamide in which less than 85% of the
amide linkages (–CO – NH–) are attached directly to two aliphatic
groups.
Aliphatic polyamides with structural units derived predominantly
from aliphatic monomers are members of the generic class of
nylons.
The word nylon was introduced to signify the fineness of the
filament i.e. a pound of nylon could be converted to the length
equal to the distance between New York (NY) and London (LON).
Example
Thus, nylon-6,10 is the polyamide produced from the 6-
carbon hexamethylene diamine and the 10-carbon sebacic
acid, whereas nylon-6 is obtained from the 6-carbon
caprolactam and nylon-11 from the 11-carbon
aminoundecanoic acid.
The coding of nylons derived from ring structures
usually includes either a single letter or a combination of
letters representing the ring containing unit.
Nylon-6,T refers to a polyamide produced from
hexamethylene diamine and terephthalic acid
Nylon-mXD,6 is derived from m-xylene diamine and
adipic acid.
 Nylon 66
Nylon 6,6 types are synthesized from a diacid and diamine. For
nylon 6,6 hexamethylene diamine (H) and adipic acid (A) are
reacted to form H-A salt. The salt is polymerized to produce nylon
66 in the following manner.
 Nylon 66

NH2 (CH2)6NH2 + HOOC (CH2)4 COOH

Hexamethylene Diamine Adipic Acid
↓
--CONH (CH2)6 NHCO (CH2)4CONH (CH2)6 NHCO (CH2)4 CO---
Nylon 6,6
Polyhexamethylene Adipamaide
 Conditions for Nylon 66 production
Hexamethylene diamine should be in the
crystalline form with melting point of 40˚C and
boiling point of 204˚–205˚C.
Adipic acid is in the white crystalline, with melting and
boiling point of 152˚ and 216˚C.
The color, iron and water content are also controlled. In
the production process, the two monomers of nylon 66
are taken in the molar ratio of 1: 1.
 Nylon 6
Nylon 6 is typically produced from caprolactam in the
following manner.
 Condition for Nylon 6 production

The purity of the caprolactam is critically assessed for

the production of nylon 6 polymer. The specificities of
the monomer are freezing point 69˚C;
Caprolactam requires a catalyst, which converts small
amounts of caprolactam to ε-aminocaproic acid which
helps in polymerization process. The catalyst could be
water, where the control of reaction is easy.
Nylon Fiber: Manufacturing process
Polycondensation
This is a chemical process to produce the nylon polymer using caprolactum
and acetic acid or Hexamethylene Diamine and Adipic Acid
Nylon Fiber: Manufacturing process
Nylon Fiber: Manufacturing process
Nylon Fiber: Manufacturing process
Nylon Fiber: Manufacturing process
Chipping
The nylon rope produced from the polymerization process is cut into chips.

Melting
In this stage nylon chips are melted to reach the viscosity suitable for pumping
to the spinning process. 

Spinning
In this process, molten nylon is pumped to spinnerettes, and the polymer
streams coming out are cooled by blown air that let the polymer solidifies and
form continuous nylon filament.
Drawing and twisting
The nylon yarn produced in the previous process is subjected to stretch, is given
twist and is wound on a bobbin .

Texturing
This process subjects the filament yarn to heating, then inducing crimp in the
filament and then cooling the filament, thus forming a textured nylon yarn.
Nylon Fiber: Manufacturing process
Drawing and crimping
This process (for fibre production) is in the production line of nylon
fiber in which filament tows from spinnerettes are collected to form a sheet
which is subjected to stretch and crimping to give the required degree of
crimp and fineness. 

Cutting and pressing

In this process the collected tows of nylon filaments pass through a cutting
machine which cuts the filaments into fibers with length similar to wool
fibers. The resulting nylon fibers are pressed into bales with polyethylene
cover
Melt spinning process of Nylon
 Physical properties of nylon 6 and nylon 66
Properties Nylon 66 Nylon 6
Tensile Strength g/d
Dry 5.0-6.5 4.8-6.4
Wet 4.5-6.0 4.2-5.9
Tensile Elongation % 25-38 28-45
Dry 28-45 36-52
Wet
Young’s Modulus g/d 30-52 20-45
Elastic Recovery % 98-100 98-100
at 3% elongation
Specific Gravity 1.14 1.12-1.15
Specific Heat J/gK 1.67 1.6
Water Absorption %
65% RH 3.5-4.5 3.5-4.5
100% RH 9-10 9-10
Difference between Nylon 6 and Nylon 66
Nylon 66 and nylon 6 differ from each other in
various ways. The difference in the structural
composition in these two fibers are reflected to
their physical as well as chemical behavior that
lead them to be used in different areas of
application according to the requirements of a
particular end use.
First of all, nylon 6 is only made from one kind of
monomer, a monomer called caprolactum. Nylon 66
is made from two monomers, adipic acid and
hexamethylene diamine.
The chemical structures of nylon 66 and nylon 6 are
virtually identical. They differ only in the arrangement
of the carbonyl and NH groups between the
hydrocarbon chains of the polymer.
In nylon 66 their order is alternatively reversed and
the order might be designated AB----BA (A
representing amine groups and B representing
carboxyl groups).
Nylon 6 does not have the same functional
groups at each end of the monomer unit like nylon
66 and can be written as AB----AB structure.
Nylon 66 fiber has a tighter molecular structure
than nylon 6 due to higher level of hydrogen
bonding and maximum alignment between the
molecular chains.
Type nylon 6 does not have this level of internal
bonding resulting in a more random and open
structure
 Crystallinity
Nylon 6,6 is more crystalline than the nylon 6. This more crystalline
structure of type nylon 66 helps the fiber to retain its shape better
and gives the enhanced resilience properties. The higher degree of
crystallinity and tighter molecular structure of nylon 6,6 results,
however, a poor dye affinity than nylon 6 fibers.

Melting point
The melting point determines thermal resistance, safe ironing
temperature and heat setting temperature. Nylon 66 has a higher
melting temperature (about 2500C) than nylon 6 (about 2150C) due to
its molecular structure. The higher melting point of nylon 66 allows it
to be used in some particular cases, where the melting point of nylon 6
can not meet the requirements of application.
 Dye affinity and color fastness
Nylon 6 has a greater affinity for certain dyestuffs than nylon 6,6.
Dye together with acid dyes in the same dyebath, nylon 6 will dye
to a shade several times deeper than that attained by nylon 6,6.
The dye diffusion rate for nylon 6,6 is not as fast as for nylon 6.
Therefore it is more difficult to dye nylon 6,6.
On the other hand, it is also difficult to strip out the color from
type 6,6 because the dye more closely combines with the fiber.
Consequently, nylon 6,6 possesses better colorfastness properties
than nylon 6.
END-USES [FOR CLOTHING]
Socks, Ski Wear, Swimsuits, Sports Wear, Casual Wear,
Lingerie, Rain Wear, Linings, etc.
[FOR HOME USES]
Cloth for Bags, Cover Cloth for Futon (Japanese Bedding),
Furoshiki (Square Cloth for Wrapping Things), Cloth for
Umbrella, Sewing Threads, Tooth Brush, Interlinings, etc.
[FOR HOME FURNISHING]
Carpets, Automotive Rugs, Upholstery, Rugs, etc.
[FOR INDUSTRIAL USES]
Tire Cords, Automotive Airbags, Fishing Nets, Fishing line,
Computer Ribbon, Hoses, Industrial Sewing Thread,
Footwear, Automotive Furnishings, Substrate for Synthetic
Leather.