Synthetic resins or natural rubbers -- part of the class 520 ser – Synthetic resins – Mixing of two or more solid polymers; mixing of solid...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-09
2002-11-12
Seidleck, James J. (Department: 1711)
Synthetic resins or natural rubbers -- part of the class 520 ser
Synthetic resins
Mixing of two or more solid polymers; mixing of solid...
C525S098000, C525S095000, C525S314000, C525S319000, C525S330300, C525S393000, C525S431000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06479584
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a resin composition comprising a specific stellar-structure vinyl polymer and a use thereof as well as such vinyl polymer and a method of producing the same.
BACKGROUND ART
Stellar polymers comprise linear arm polymers extending radially from the core and are known to have various properties different from straight chain polymers. Methods for synthesizing stellar polymers may roughly be divided into two classes. In one class, a certain number of armpolymer moieties are grown from a core compound or polymer and, in the other, an arm polymer is first prepared and a certain number of molecules thereof are linked together to form a stellar structure. For linking arms together, there are the method comprising reacting the polymer with a compound having a plurality of functional groups capable of reacting with a terminal functional group of the polymer and the method comprising adding a compound having a plurality of polymerizable groups after arm polymerization.
Such stellar polymers may be constituted of various homopolymer or copolymer species, such as polystyrene, poly(meth)acrylate, polydienes, polyethers, polyesters and polysiloxanes. For obtaining a controlled stellar structure, it is necessary, irrespective of production methods, to control the polymerization and, therefore, the technique of anionic polymerization, living cationic polymerization or polycondensation is employed in most cases.
Among the polymers obtainable by ionic polymerization or polycondensation, such as those mentioned above, those stellar-structure vinyl polymers which are obtainable by radical polymerization have scarcely been put to practical use. In particular, attempts have been made in vain to attain chain extension or construct a stellar structure by joining the growing terminus of a polymer molecule to that of another. Among vinyl polymers, (meth)acrylic polymers have high weathering resistance and transparency and other characteristics which the above-mentioned polyether polymers or hydrocarbon polymers or polyester polymers cannot have, hence those having an alkenyl group or a crosslinking silyl group on a side chain thereof are used in high weathering resistance coatings or the like. On the other hand, to control the polymerization of acrylic polymers is not easy due to side reactions involved therein. It is very difficult to attain chain extension or construct a stellar structure after polymerization.
On the other hand, vinyl polymers, in particular (meth)acrylic polymers, having a crosslinking silyl group(s) within the molecule thereof are utilized in high weathering resistance coatings making good use of the high weathering resistance of the main chain and the crosslinking points. These (meth)acrylic polymers are generally produced by copolymerizing a crosslinking silyl-containing (meth) acrylic monomer with some other monomer(s), so that the crosslinking silyl groups occur at random positions in the molecular chain, hence it is difficult to apply them to rubbers. On the other hand, attempts have been made to produce (meth) acrylic polymer having a crosslinking silyl group at a molecular terminus and use them in sealing materials or adhesives. As for the method of producing crosslinking silyl-terminated (meth)acrylic polymers, Japanese Kokoku Publication Hei-03-14068, for instance, discloses a method which comprises polymerizing a (meth)acrylic monomer in the presence of a crosslinking silyl-containing mercaptan, a crosslinking silyl-containing disulfide and a crosslinking silyl-containing radical polymerization initiator, and Japanese Kokoku Publication Hei-04-55444 discloses a method which comprises polymerizing an acrylic monomer in the presence of a crosslinking silyl-containing hydrosilane compound or a tetrahalosilane. Further, Japanese Kokai Publication Hei-06-211922 described a method of producing crosslinking silyl-terminated (meth)acrylic polymers which comprises first synthesizing a hydroxyl-terminated acrylic polymer by using a hydroxyl-containing polysulfide in excess relative to an initiator and then converting the hydroxyl group(s).
However, crosslinking silyl-terminated stellar-structure vinyl polymers have seldom been synthesized. Such a polymer, if successfully synthesized, would expectedly provide a curable composition having a higher gel fraction, showing a higher rate of curing and giving cured products higher in strength as compared with the straight-chain polymers having a crosslinking silyl group at both ends.
Meanwhile, block copolymers comprising various polymer blocks have recently been studied as thermoplastic elastomers or impact strength improving agents. However, as for the stellar polymers having block copolymer arms, few are known, since they are difficult to produce.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a resin composition comprising a stellar-structure vinyl polymer, in particular such a polymer producible by living radical polymerization, especially a curable composition comprising a crosslinking silyl-terminated stellar-structure vinyl polymer, and a resin composition comprising a chain-extended or stellar-structure vinyl polymer which has a block copolymer arm, as well as a vinyl polymer and a method for producing the same.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a first aspect, the invention provides a resin composition which comprises a crosslinking silyl-terminated stellar-structure vinyl polymer (I) and a sealant or adhesive which comprises said resin composition.
In a second aspect, the invention provides a resin composition which comprises a stellar-structure vinyl block copolymer or chain-extended vinyl block copolymer (II) and a thermoplastic elastomer or impact resistance improving agent which comprises said resin composition.
In a third aspect, the invention provides a method of producing a stellar-structure vinyl block copolymer or chain-extended vinyl block copolymer which comprises forming a block copolymer using living radical polymerization and adding, at the end point of polymerization, a compound having two or more polymerizable carbon-carbon double bonds.
In a fourth aspect, the invention provides a stellar-structure vinyl block copolymer or chain-extended vinyl block copolymer obtainable by the method according to the third aspect of the invention.
In the following, the invention is described in detail.
DETAILED DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The invention, in its first aspect, lies in a resin composition comprising a crosslinking silyl-terminated stellar-structure vinyl polymer (I).
<<Polymer (I)>>
First, the crosslinking silyl-terminated stellar-structure vinyl polymer (I) is described.
The terminal crosslinking silyl group of the vinyl polymer (I) is not particularly restricted but includes those represented by the general formula (4):
—[Si(R
16
)
2−b
(Y)
b
O]
m
—Si(R
17
)
3−a
(Y)
a
(4)
wherein R
16
and R
17
each represents a C
1-20
alkyl, aryl or aralkyl group or a triorganosiloxy group represented by (R′)
3
SiO— (in which each R′ represents C
1-20
monovalent hydrocarbon group and the three R′ groups maybe the same or different) and, when there are a plurality of R
16
and/or R
17
groups, they may be the same or different; Y represents a hydroxyl group or a hydrolyzable group and, when two or more Y groups occur, they may be the same or different; a represents 0, 1, 2 or 3, b represents 0, 1 or 2 and m represents an integer of 0 to 19 on condition that the relation a+mb≧1 should be satisfied.
The hydrolyzable group represented by Y is not particularly restricted but may be any of those known in the art. Specifically, mention may be made of hydrogen, halogen, alkoxy, acyloxy, ketoximato, amino, amido, aminoxy, mercapto and alkenyloxy. For assuring hydrolyzability under mild conditions and ease of handling, alkoxy groups are particularly preferred. Each silicon atom may have 1 to 3 such hydrolyzable groups and/or hydroxyl groups, and a+mb, namely the total number of hydrolyzable groups is pr
Fujita Masayuki
Kimura Katsuhiko
Kitano Kenichi
Nakagawa Yoshiki
Asinovsky Olga
Connolly Bove & Lodge & Hutz LLP
Kaneka Corporation
Seidleck James J.
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