Synthetic resins or natural rubbers -- part of the class 520 ser – Synthetic resins – From heterocyclic reactant containing as ring atoms oxygen,...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-06
2002-10-15
Sellers, Robert E. L. (Department: 1712)
Synthetic resins or natural rubbers -- part of the class 520 ser
Synthetic resins
From heterocyclic reactant containing as ring atoms oxygen,...
C524S323000, C524S495000, C524S504000, C525S063000, C525S069000, C525S074000, C525S078000, C525S080000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06465606
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a novel olefin polymer composed of the reaction of a functionalized polypropylene and a polyether amine. This invention also relates to thermoplastic resin blends containing the novel olefin polymer and polypropylene. This invention also relates to polyetheramines.
2. Related Art
The in situ formation of compatibilizers for polyblends is rapidly gaining popularity. In the last few years, more and more cases have been reported where advantage is taken of the presence of reactive groups to form a graft or a block or a random copolymer, which could act as a compatibilizer for a mixture of two or more polymers. The prior art,
Process Requirements of the Reactive Compatibilization of Nylon
6/
Polypropylene Blends
by S. S. Dagli, M. Xanthos and J. A. Biensenberger: Polymer Processing Institute at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, N.J. 07030 reveals an acrylic acid grafted modified polypropylene used with a blend of nylon-6 and polypropylene.
Thermoplastic resin compositions containing polypropylene are well known in the art (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,081). U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,164 describes a polypropylene/polyamide composition suitable for producing moldings. The patent describes an ethylene copolymer useful as an adhesion promoter. Moreover, the patent indicates that maleic acid is a suitable monomer for preparing the ethylene copolymer.
In addition, maleated polypropylene is commercially available.
European patent application 0 367 832 discloses a resin composition containing an olefinic polymer having acid anhydride groups. As in U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,164, the novel compound is blended with a polyamide.
Japanese patent 46003838 reveals a maleic anhydride modified polypropylene composition containing trimethylamine and polyethylene glycol nonylphenyl ether. Japanese patent 60195120 reveals a molding containing polyethylene, maleic anhydride-grafted polyethylene, and diethylenetriamine.
However, the instant invention uses the maleic anhydride in conjunction with polyetheramines which produce unexpected improvements in resin properties.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is a compound comprising a blend of polypropylene (“PP”) with the reaction product of a functionalized polypropylene and polyetheramine in which the polyether amine is grafted onto the functionalized polypropylene in a customary mixing apparatus. By grafted it is meant that the amine functionality of the polyetheramine reacts with the anhydride component of the functionalized polypropylene to form a reaction product, for instance, a primary amine will react with a maleic anhydride to form an imide. This invention is also a process for producing the reaction product of the functionalized polypropylene and the polyether amine by melting with polypropylene in a customary mixing apparatus. In this regard, the compound blend of this invention may be prepared by reactive extrusion by feeding a polyetheramine, a functionalized polypropylene and polypropylene into an extruder at temperatures such that the polyetheramine reacts with the functionalized polypropylene to form a reaction product containing, for example, an imide group.
This invention is also a polyether monoamine which contains from about 36 to about 44 ethylene oxide units and from about I to about 6 propylene oxide units. By ethylene oxide unit and propylene oxide unit it is meant the residue of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide which has been incorporated into the polyether monoamine, i.e., units corresponding to —CH
2
CH
2
O— and —CH
2
CHCH
3
O—, respectively. This invention further relates to a process for making a blend containing polypropylene and the reaction product of a functionalized polypropylene and a polyether monoamine by melting polypropylene polyether monoamine and functionalized polypropylene to form the blend. This invention is yet further directed to a blend containing polypropylene and the reaction product of polyether monoamine and functionalized polypropylene.
The compositions of the present invention are useful for preparing molded automotive body parts, including directly paintable thermoplastic polyolefins (“TPO”) based automotive body parts.
It is also contemplated that the compositions are useful for making molded parts that contain filler such as glass. It is yet further contemplated that the compositions of the present invention may be useful in the preparation of films, including printable films; fibers including dyable and non-woven PP fibers; and in packaging materials for electronics components such as semiconductor chips, wherein the packaging materials may provide electrostatic dissipation which would thereby protect the chips from damage. It is yet further contemplated that the composition of the present invention may be useful to improve the barrier properties for polyethylene and to modify polyethylene as a tie layer in multilayer films. It is further contemplated that the composition of the present invention may be useful as an additive as polypropylene based reinforcement fibers for concrete.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The blend of polypropylene with the reaction product of maleated polypropylene and polyether amine shows improved paintability, improved impact resistance, and excellent mold flowability over blends of polypropylene and maleated polypropylene.
Plastics are increasingly being employed in the production of motor vehicles. Impact-modified PP has proved to be particularly suitable for applications such as bumpers, spoilers, fenders, side bump strips and the like. Therefore, a thermoplastic resin blend having the improved properties of the instant invention has significant potential commercial usefulness.
These resin compositions, according to the present invention, are useful as engineering plastics which are materials for structural members in the fields of transport machines (automobiles, ships and the like), apparatus, tools, electronic appliances, electric appliances, sporting goods, leisure goods and the like; and for connectors, tubes and the like.
Suitable polypropylenes are known from polymer chemistry, are described for example in Kunststoff-Handbuch, volume IV, Polyolefins, edited by R. Vieweg, A. Schley and A. Schwarz. Carol Hanser Verlag, Munich, 1969, and are commercially available, so that no details need be given.
Functionalized PP is PP onto which a monomer has been grafted. The usual method of such grafting is by free radical reaction. In the practice of this invention, the maleated polypropylene is not a copolymer of maleic anhydride or equivalent thereof, and propylene, such that the maleic anhydride moiety is predominantly in the backbone of the copolymer. Suitable monomers for preparing functionalized polypropylene are, for example, olefinically unsaturated monocarboxylic acids of less than 12 carbon atoms, e.g., acrylic acid or methacrylic acid, and the corresponding tert-butyl esters, e.g., tert-butyl (meth)acrylate, olefinically unsaturated dicarboxylic acids of less than 12 carbon atoms, e.g., fumaric acid, maleic acid, and itaconic acid and the corresponding mono-and/or di-tert-butyl esters, e.g., mono or di-tert-butyl fumarate and mono or di-tert-butyl maleate, olefinically unsaturated dicarboxylic anhydrides of less than 12 carbon atoms, e.g., maleic anhydride, sulfo- or sulfonyl-containing olefinically unsaturated monomers of less than 12 carbon atoms, e.g., p-styrenesulfonic acid, 2-(meth)acrylamide-2-methylpropenesulfonic acid or 2-sulfonyl(meth)acrylate, oxazolinyl-containing olefinically unsaturated monomers of less than 12 carbon atoms, e.g., vinyloxazolines and vinyloxazoline derivatives, and epoxy-containing olefinically unsaturated monomers of less than 12 carbon atoms, e.g., glycidyl (meth)acrylate or allyl glycidyl ether. The most preferred monomer for preparing functionalized polypropylene is maleic anhydride.
The functionalized polypropylene used in the practice of this invention may have a wide variety of number average molecular weights. When the functionalized p
Clark Richard J.
Dominguez Richard J. G.
Evans Randall Keith
Huntsman Petrochemical Corporation
O'Keefe Egan & Peterman, LLP
Sellers Robert E. L.
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