Novel, semicrystalline polyamides and co(polyamides) were synthesized from biobased sebacic acid (SA), 2,5-diamino-2,5-dideoxy-1,4;3,6-dianhydroiditol (diaminoisoidide, DAII) as well as from 1,4-diaminobutane (DAB), also known as putrescine in nature. Low molecular weight polyamides were obtained by melt polycondensation of the salts based on these monomers or by interfacial polycondensation. In order to increase their molecular weights the polyamide prepolymers were submitted to a solid state polymerization (SSP) process. The chemical structure of the polymers was confirmed by 2D NMR correlation spectra (COSY), heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation spectra (HMBC) and by FT-IR spectroscopy. In the present work, FT-IR and X-ray techniques were used as a tool for the investigation of the crystal structure of the polymers after SSP. The X-ray diffractograms of the polyamides point to crystals containing both 4.10- and DAII.10-based repeat units. Because of the presence of diaminoisoidide residues the synthesized fully renewable products exhibit tunable polarities and melting points. Since most commercial polyamides have a much higher melting point than their end application requires, especially for fiber applications, this simple adaption can result in a significant reduction of energy consumption during processing.

Biobased, unsaturated polyesters derived from isosorbide, maleic anhydride, and succinic acid were synthesized and characterized. The presence of maleic anhydride units in the structure of the polyesters allowed converting them into cured coatings by radical copolymerization with crosslinking agents such as 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate, N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidinone, acrylic acid or methacrylamide. The investigated polyesters were obtained via bulk polycondensation, catalyzed by titanium(IV) n‐butoxide. 2D NMR and MALDI‐Tof‐MS spectroscopy proved that this polymerization resulted in isomerization of maleic acid units into fumaric ones and in the formation of slightly branched structures by the reaction of isosorbide (end) groups with main chain unsaturated bonds. Moreover, some double bonds proved to have reacted with the condensation by‐product water. The resulting polyesters displayed the expected correlation between variables such as molecular weight and content of unsaturated bonds and their Tg values. Since the thermal properties of the obtained polyesters were appropriate for coating applications, the polymers were crosslinked with unsaturated monomers by radical copolymerization. The crosslinking process was studied using FTIR spectroscopy and by measurements of the soluble part of the cured coatings. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 2885–2895, 2010