Abstract
Star-shaped nylon 6 s, whose polymer arms radiated from the initiator, were prepared, and its thermal properties were studied. The melting point and the heat of fusion decreased, as the number of the polymer arms increased. The decrease of melting point was caused by the diminution of the molecular weight of polymer arms. The decrease of heat of fusion was due to the presence of the initiator in polymer chains, indicating that the nylon 6 units near the initiator could not crystallize. The glass transition temperature increased, as the number of the polymer arms increased. The initiators of star-shaped nylon 6 played a role as the cross-linking points. Consequently, the thermal properties of the star-shaped nylon 6 were dependent on the number of the polymer arms, the molecular weight of polymer arms, and the size of the initiator.
