# Direct Solid-State Polymerization of Highly Aliphatic PA 1212 Salt: Critical Parameters and Reaction Mechanism Investigation Under Different Reactor Designs

## TL;DR

This study explores the solid-state polymerization of PA 1212 salt, revealing how its hydrophobic nature affects the reaction mechanism and morphology.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a novel FTIR-ATR protocol for monitoring DSSP and identifies unique behavior in PA 1212 salt polymerization.

## Key findings

- PA 1212 salt polymerization proceeds via a quasi-SMT mechanism, differing from classical models.
- Hydrophobicity of PA 1212 salt causes limited surface softening and agglomeration.
- FTIR-ATR provides a qualitative method to monitor DSSP progress effectively.

## Abstract

The present work aims to synthesize polyamide 1212 (PA 1212) via direct solid-state polymerization (DSSP), starting from its solid salt precursor. The DSSP of aliphatic polyamide salts has been found to proceed through melt intermediates, in harmony with the well-documented solid-melt transition (SMT) mechanism. However, PA 1212 salt is anticipated to deviate from this model due to its strongly hydrophobic nature. The reaction was initially investigated at the microscale in a thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) chamber and then scaled up to the laboratory scale. The influence of reactor design, reaction temperature, and residence time was examined. DSSP products were characterized in terms of molecular size and morphological properties. At the same time, a novel protocol was developed for qualitatively monitoring the progress of polymerization via Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy-Attenuated Total Refraction (FTIR-ATR) analysis. Emphasis was given on the resulting morphology examined via Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM imaging). Although DSSP has been found to proceed through a quasi-SMT, significant differences are observed compared to the classical mechanism established in the literature. This paper reveals that the limited surface softening or agglomeration phenomena encountered are mostly associated with the hydrophobic structure of the PA 1212 salt.