Ethylene copolymerisates having improved low-temperature properties and good oil resistance, vulcanizable mixtures made therefrom and vulcanizates

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10370472-B2
Application number	US-201615568837-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 19, 2016
Priority date	Apr 30, 2015
Publication date	Aug 6, 2019
Grant date	Aug 6, 2019

Abstract

The present invention relates to copolymers of ethylene, vinyl esters of an alkyl carboxylic acid and other specific unsaturated carboxylic esters which have lower glass transition temperature than copolymers of ethylene and vinyl esters of an alkyl carboxylic acid, and also to production and use of these, to vulcanizable mixtures comprising the copolymers of the invention, to crosslinking of these and to vulcanizates and moldings obtainable therefrom.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. Ethylene copolymers comprising:
i) 10 to 69% by weight of copolymerized ethylene,
ii) 30 to 84% by weight of copolymerized units of at least one vinyl ester of an alkyl carboxylic acid, and
iii) 1 to 50% by weight of repeating units derived from at least one monomer of the general formula (I)
CH 2 ═C(R 1 )(COO(R 2 O) n R 3 )  (I)

in which
R 1 is hydrogen or methyl,
R 2 is respectively mutually independently a linear or branched C 2 to C 6 -alkylene group,
R 3 is hydrogen, unsubstituted phenyl or phenyl having one or more C 1 -C 3 alkyl substituents, a linear or branched C 1 -C 8 alkyl group or —C(═O)R 4 ,
R 4 is hydrogen or a linear or branched C 1 -C 8 alkyl group, and
n is a number from 2 to 30,

where the quantities are based on the entirety of the monomers i) to iii).

2. The ethylene copolymers according to claim 1 , where the vinyl esters of an alkyl carboxylic acid derived from an alkyl carboxylic acid group having from 2 to 13 C atoms and also from a vinyl alcohol group having from 2 to 5 C atoms.

3. The ethylene copolymers according to claim 1 , comprising from 2 to 40% by weight.

4. The ethylene copolymers according to claim 1 , where the moieties R 2 are selected mutually independently from the group comprising ethane-1,2-diyl, propane-1,3-diyl, propane-1,2-diyl, butane-1,4-diyl, butane-1,3-diyl, pentane-1,3-diyl, pentane-1,4-diyl, pentane-1,5-diyl, and 2-methylbutane-1,4-diyl.

5. The ethylene copolymers according to claim 1 , where the moieties R 3 are selected from the group consisting of H, CH 3 , CH 2 CH 3 , CH 2 CH 2 CH 3 , CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 3 , CHO, COCH 3 , COCH 2 CH 3 , COCH 2 CH 2 CH 3 and COCH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 3 .

6. The ethylene copolymers according to claim 1 , wherein the copolymers comprise a total quantity of less than 25% by weight of one or more other copolymerized monomers (iv).

7. The ethylene copolymers according to claim 6 , wherein the other monomers (iv) are selected from C 1 -C 8 -alkyl acrylates, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl methacrylates, acrylates containing epoxy groups, methacrylates containing epoxy groups, vinyl ketones, vinylaromatic compounds, conjugated dienes, α-monoolefins, vinyl monomers having a hydroxy group, chlorovinyl acetate, vinylidene fluoride, hexafluoropropene, vinylidene chloride, tetrafluoroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, vinyl chloride, unsaturated amide monomers and carbon monoxide.

8. A process for the production of the ethylene copolymers according to claim 1 , the process comprising subjecting ethylene, the vinyl esters of an alkyl carboxylic acid, the monomers of the general formula (I), and optionally one or more other monomers (iv) to free-radical polymerization.

9. The process according to claim 8 , wherein, after the polymerization reaction has been initiated, the monomers of the general formula (I) are added.

10. The process according to claim 8 , wherein, after the polymerization reaction has been initiated, the monomers of the general formula (I) are added in the form of a mixture with the vinyl ester and/or with a solvent.

11. Vulcanizable mixtures comprising the ethylene copolymers according to claim 1 .

12. A process for the production of vulcanizates made of vulcanizable mixtures according to claim 11 , the process comprising crosslinking the ethylene copolymers by means of diamines, polyacids, anhydrides of a polyacid, compounds comprising peroxide groups and/or high-energy radiation.

13. Vulcanizates obtained from the vulcanizable mixtures according to claim 11 .

14. Articles of manufacture comprising the vulcanizable mixtures according to claim 11 , wherein the articles of manufacture comprise unfoamed or foamed mouldings, cable conduction layers, cable sheathing, gaskets, transport belts, bellows, hoses, cylinder-head-cover gaskets and O-rings.

15. Plastics or rubbers comprising the ethylene copolymers according to claim 1 as a blend component.

16. Non-volatile plasticizer and/or impact modifier for plastics comprising the ethylene copolymers according to claim 1 .

17. The ethylene copolymers according to claim 1 , wherein the copolymers comprise:
15 to 59% by weight, of the copolymerized ethylene,
2 to 40% by weight of repeating units derived from the monomers of the general formula (I), and
35 to 80% by weight, of the copolymerized units of the at least one vinyl ester of an alkyl carboxylic acid
wherein the amounts are each based on the entirety of the monomers i) to iii).

18. The ethylene copolymers according to claim 17 , wherein the copolymers comprise 6 to 20% by weight, of repeating units derived from monomers of the general formula (I), based on the entirety of the monomers i) to iii).

Assignees

• Arlanxeo Deutschland Gmbh

Inventors

• Lieber Susanna
• Isenberg-Schulz Olaf
• Frenzel Ulrich
• Kalkofen Rainer

Classifications

• C08F218/08 Primary

  Vinyl acetate · CPC title

• C08J3/24

  Crosslinking, e.g. vulcanising, of macromolecules (mechanical aspects B29C35/00; crosslinking agents C08K) · CPC title

• C08J3/26

  of latex · CPC title

• C08L67/00

  Compositions of polyesters obtained by reactions forming a carboxylic ester link in the main chain (of polyester-amides C08L77/12; of polyester-imides C08L79/08); Compositions of derivatives of such polymers · CPC title

• C08L77/00

  Compositions of polyamides obtained by reactions forming a carboxylic amide link in the main chain (of polyhydrazides C08L79/06; of polyamideimides or polyamide acids C08L79/08); Compositions of derivatives of such polymers · CPC title