Nylon is the trade name for polyamines, a class of polymers that contain amine and carbonyl groups. It has a basic backbone of PE, with amine groups added to the mix. A number usually follows the name Nylon (ie. Nylon 6) to designate the number of carbons in the monomer. The higher this number, the greater the methyl groups, and the more it acts like PE. If there are two numbers such as Nylon 6/6 it contains two monomers.

Porex has primarily worked with Nylon 6, which has the highest strength and thermal resistance of the nylons. Its softening temperature is around 380F. Further, it is rated for continuous use up to 250F with a lower operating temperature at -40F. Nylon is a semi-crystalline polymer. One major drawback is its strong ability to absorb moisture (up to 9.5%). It has very high tensile strength, good abrasion and chemical resistance, and low coefficient of friction. It has a UL V2 rating, UL94HB, 0.236 inch.

Nylon is better suited for higher temperature applications as compared to PE and PP. With a peak tensile stress of 2000 PSI, it is the strongest porous material tested to date. The break elongation (27%) is similar to HDPE and it produces pore sizes ranging from 100u-200u and pore volumes of 35%-55%. Nylon exhibits excellent permeability and chemical resistance to oils, hydrocarbons and most solvents. Nylon 6 offers a good combination of properties at a lower cost than PES. Typically, N6 has a median pore size of approximately 200 microns and is rated for continuous use at 250°F. N6 is available for custom molding only.