OPTICALLY-ACTIVE POLYAMIDES DERIVED FROM L-TARTARIC ACID

A series of polyamides n,4 (n from 2 to 12) containing one methoxy group stereoregularly attached to each a carbon atom of the diacid repeating unit has been prepared by using L-tartaric acid as the starting material. Polycondensation in a solution of bis(pentachlorophenyl) 2,4-O-dimethyl-L-tartrate with the corresponding 1,n-alkanediamines afforded stereoregular polymers with molecular weights between 7 x 10(3) and 5 x 10(4) depending upon the value of n, in high yields. These polyamides were fully characterized by elemental analysis and IR and H-1/C-13 NMR spectroscopy. They are hydrophilic, melt above 185-degrees-C, and display large optical activity. All these properties were investigated and found to correlate well with the molecular structure of the polymer.