---
title: "Nylon-6,6: a polyamide Template – Chemistry Diagram | MolDraw"
url: https://www.moldraw.com/templates/polymer-nylon-66/
description: "Nylon-6,6: a polyamide template: Hexane-1,6-diamine attacks adipoyl chloride (the nylon rope trick): addition, loss of chloride and deprotonation make each…"
lang: en
publisher: Scidart Academy
generated: 2026-10-28
---
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# Nylon-6,6: a polyamide template

![Nylon-6,6: a polyamide template: Hexane-1,6-diamine attacks adipoyl chloride (the nylon rope trick): addition, loss of chloride and deprotonation make each amide link of the [–NH(CH₂)₆NH–CO(CH₂)₄CO–]n repeat unit.](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/polymer-nylon-66.webp)

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Hexane-1,6-diamine attacks adipoyl chloride (the nylon rope trick): addition, loss of chloride and deprotonation make each amide link of the [–NH(CH₂)₆NH–CO(CH₂)₄CO–]n repeat unit.

## Mechanism step by step

Step growth by nucleophilic acyl substitution: amine plus acid chloride gives an amide and HCl

1. **Addition** – The amine N attacks the acyl carbon; C=O opens to O⁻
2. **Elimination** – C=O re-forms and chloride leaves
3. **Deprotonation** – Hydroxide removes H⁺ from N: the neutral amide link

## Key points

- Step growth: any two chains with the right end groups can join, so long chains appear only at very high conversion.
- Carothers: Xn = 1/(1 − p); 99% conversion gives only about 100 units, and the 1:1 ratio must be exact.
- Industrially the diamine and adipic acid form "nylon salt", which is heated to drive off water.
- N–H···O=C hydrogen bonds between chains give nylon its strength and high melting point (about 265 °C).

Drawn with 73 atoms, 10 arrows, 11 shapes – every one editable in MolDraw.

## Sources

- [Odian, Principles of Polymerization, 4th ed., Wiley 2004, ch. 2](https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780471274001) Textbook
- [Young & Lovell, Introduction to Polymers, 3rd ed., CRC Press 2011](https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780849339295) Textbook

## How to use this template

1. Press **Edit in MolDraw**. The template opens on the canvas of the free MolDraw editor.
2. Change anything: move structures, edit atoms and labels, recolour highlights or delete what you do not need.
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## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Nylon-6,6: a polyamide template free?

You can preview the Nylon-6,6: a polyamide template here and open and edit it in MolDraw for free. Downloading or exporting it is part of MolDraw Pro, together with the other premium templates.

### Can I edit the Nylon-6,6: a polyamide template?

Yes. It opens as an ordinary MolDraw drawing, so every structure, arrow, label and colour can be changed, and you can add your own content around it.

### Is the chemistry checked?

Every structure is checked with RDKit and every curly arrow passes MolDraw’s electron-flow audit. The sources used are listed on this page.

### Do the polymer templates show repeat units?

Yes. Each polymer is drawn with its repeat unit in brackets with n, next to the monomers it comes from.

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