Nylon 13,6 was successfully synthesized and its chemical composition, thermal properties, crystal structure, and moisture absorption characterized. Melting temperature and glass transition temperature were determined to be 206 degrees C and 60 degrees C, respectively, while the equilibrium melting temperature was determined to be 248 degrees C. Characterization of the crystallization kinetics showed that nylon 13,6 exhibits very fast crystallization compared to the industrially important nylons, nylon 6 and nylon 6,6. In addition, the moisture absorption of nylon 13,6 was dramatically lower than nylon 6 and nylon 6,6 which is consistent with the much lower amide content of nylon 13,6. The crystal structure was determined to be different from the expected gamma-form, which possess a pseudohexagonal unit cell. Instead, the x-ray scattering pattern was more similar to the alpha-form. A similar result has been obtained for other odd-even nylons including nylon 5,6, nylon 5,10, nylon 9,2, nylon 11,10, and nylon 11,12. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.