Abstract
Polyamide 11, engineering plastics made from C11 monomer by cracking of castor oil(C18), has been used for more than 50 years in many applications such as automotive, electronics and industrial parts. Due to strong environmental request of society to use bio-based material rather than petroleum based one, castor oil based polyamides have attracted more attention from many industries. In this article, specific characteristics of novel castor oil based polymers such as Polyamide 11 based thermoplastic elastomer, semi-aromatic polyamides with excellent balance of heat resistance and rigidity, and new long chain aliphatic polyamides based on C10 monomer(sebacic acid)are described. Thanks to unique crystalline structure, low moisture pick-up, dimensional stability and softness coming from long aliphatic chain, these polymers have opened up new era of high performance bio-based engineering plastics.
