ESTER-TERMINATED POLYAMIDES OF POLYMERIZED FATTY ACIDS USEFUL IN FORMULATING TRANSPARENT GELS IN LOW POLARITY LIQUIDS

摘要

A low molecular weight, ester-terminated polyamide may be blended with a liquid hydrocarbon to form a transparent composition having gel consistency. The ester-terminated polyamide is prepared by reacting "x" equivalent of dicarboxylic acid wherein at least 50 % of those equivalents are from polymerized fatty acid, "y" equivalents of diamine such as ethylene diamine, and "z" equivalents of monoalcohol having at least 4 carbon atoms. The stoichiometry of the reaction mixture is such that 0.9 < {x/(y+z)} < 1.1 and 0.1 < {(y+z)} < 0.7. The reactants are heated until they reach reaction equilibrium. The gel contains about 5-50 % ester-terminated polyamide, with the remainder preferably being pure hydrocarbon. The gels are useful in formulating personal care products and other articles wherein some degree of gel-like or self-supporting consistency is desired.