Electrostatic dissipating properties of poly(oxyethylene)amine-modified polyamides

A series of hydrophilic poly(ether amide)s were prepared from the copolymerization of dicarboxylic acids (including terephthalic, adipic, and sebacic acids) and two combined poly(oxyalkylene)diamines and characterized by GPC, NMR, IR, and DSC. The electrostatic dissipating property, probed by measuring the surface resistivity, was correlated with the molecular weight (MW), the weight content of the incorporated hydrophilic poly(oxyethylene)diamine, and the morphology of the resulting polymers. A wide range of surface resistivity from 10(12) to 10(6.3) Omega/square can be achieved. Poly(oxyethylene)diamine of MW 2000 is the most effective hydrophilic amine among those studied. The surface resistivity decreased from 10(9.9) to 10(8.7) to 10(7.8) to 10(7.6) Omega/square with increasing incorporation of the hydrophilic poly(oxyethylene)diamine from 0 to 25 to 50 to 76 wt % accordingly, in the case of poly(sebacamide)s. Adding a second amine, either triethylene glycol diamine (MW 148) or poly(oxypropylene)diamine (MW 230), to the requisite poly(oxyethylene)diamine (MW 2000) rendered the polyamides to have good structural integrity. The importance of hydrogen bonding associated with amide functionality is indirectly evidenced by comparing the analogous polyamides with the polyamines, the latter prepared from the amine curing with the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A.