Polycarbonate composition to produce optical quality products with high quality and good processability

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017190871-A1
Application number	US-201715467007-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 23, 2017
Priority date	Jun 21, 2013
Publication date	Jul 6, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

A process for manufacturing a polycarbonate composition includes melt polymerizing a dihydroxy compound and a carbonate compound in the presence of a catalyst to form a polycarbonate; and adding 1 to 400 ppm of glycerol tristearate to form the polycarbonate composition, wherein the polycarbonate composition is unquenched.

First claim

I/We claim:

1 . A process for manufacturing a polycarbonate composition comprising:
melt polymerizing a dihydroxy compound and a carbonate compound in the presence of a catalyst comprising a source of alkali or alkaline earth ions to form a polycarbonate; and adding 1 to less than 400 ppm of glycerol tristearate to form the polycarbonate composition, wherein the polycarbonate composition is unquenched, wherein the polycarbonate has a weight average molecular weight of 8,000 to 19,000 Daltons as determined by gel permeation chromatography and based on polycarbonate standards.

2 . The process of claim 1 , comprising adding 1 to 350 ppm of the glycerol tristearate.

3 . The process of claim 1 , comprising adding 1 to 200 ppm of the glycerol tristearate.

4 . The process of claim 1 , comprising adding 1 to 150 ppm of the glycerol tristearate.

5 . The process of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the following conditions apply: (1) the polycarbonate composition comprises an active catalyst; (2) the catalyst has not been neutralized; (3) the reactivity between the polycarbonate and the catalyst has not been reduced; (4) the polycarbonate composition is formed without reducing the catalyst activity between the polymerization unit and the exit of the extruder by the addition of a quenching agent; (5) less than or equal to 50 mol % of an acid relative to any added alpha catalyst has been added; and (6) substantially no quenching agent has been added during the manufacture of the polycarbonate.

6 . The process of claim 1 , wherein 0 ppm of any quenching agent is added during the process.

7 . The process of claim 6 , wherein the quenching agent is a boric acid ester, zinc borate, boron phosphate, aluminum stearate, aluminum silicate, zirconium carbonate, zirconium C 1 -C 12 alkoxides, zirconium hydroxycarboxylate, gallium phosphide, gallium antimonide, germanium oxide, C 1 -C 32 organogermanium compound, C 4 -C 32 tetraorganotin compound, C 4 -C 32 hexaorganotin compound, Sb 2 O 3 , antimony oxide, C 1 -C 32 alkylantimony, bismuth oxide, C 1 -C 12 alkylbismuth, zinc acetate, zinc stearate, C 1 -C 32 alkoxytitanium, and titanium oxide, phosphoric acid, phosphorous acid, hypophosphorous acid, pyrophosphoric acid, polyphosphoric acid, boric acid, hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid, sulfuric acid, sulfurous acid, adipic acid, azelaic acid, dodecanoic acid, L-ascorbic acid, aspartic acid, benzoic acid, formic acid, acetic acid, citric acid, glutamic acid, salicylic acid, nicotinic acid, fumaric acid, maleic acid, oxalic acid, benzenesulfinic acid, C 1 -C 12 dialkyl sulfate, alkyl sulfonic ester of the formula R 1 SO 3 R 2 wherein R 1 is hydrogen, C 1 -C 12 alkyl, C 6 -C 18 aryl, or C 7 -C 19 alkylaryl, and R 2 is C 1 -C 12 alkyl, C 6 -C 18 aryl, or C 7 -C 19 alkylaryl, sulfonic acid phosphonium salt of the formula (R a SO 3 − )(PR b 4 ) + wherein R a is hydrogen, C 1 -C 12 alkyl, C 6 -C 18 aryl, or C 7 -C 19 alkylaryl, and each R b is independently hydrogen, C 1 -C 12 alkyl or C 6 -C 18 aryl, sulfonic acid derivative of the formula A 1 -(Y 1 —SO 3 X 1 ) m wherein A 1 is a C 1 -C 40 hydrocarbon group having a valence of m, Y 1 is a single bond or an oxygen atom, X 1 is a secondary or tertiary alkyl group of the formula —CR 15 R 16 R 17 , a metal cation of one equivalent, an ammonium cation or a phosphonium wherein R 15 is a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, R 16 is a hydrogen atom, a phenyl group or an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, and R 17 is the same as or different from R 15 and has the same definition as R 15 , provided that two of R 15 , R 16 , and R 17 cannot be hydrogen atoms, and m is an integer of 1 to 4, provided that when Y is a single bond, all of X in an amount of m cannot be metal cations of one equivalent, a compound of the formula + X 2 -A 2 -Y 1 —SO 3 − wherein A 2 is a divalent hydrocarbon group, + X 2 is a secondary, tertiary or quaternary ammonium cation or a secondary, tertiary or quaternary phosphonium cation, and Y is a single bond or an oxygen atom, a compound of the formula A 3 -( + X 3 ) n .(R—Y 1 —SO 3 − ) n wherein A 3 is a C 1 -C 40 hydrocarbon group having a valence of n, + X 3 is a secondary, tertiary or quaternary ammonium cation or a secondary, tertiary or quaternary phosphonium cation, R is a monovalent C 1 -C 40 hydrocarbon group, n is an integer of 2 to 4, and Y 1 is a single bond or an oxygen atom, a compound of the formula A 5 -Ad 1 -A 4 -(Ad 2 -A 5 ) l wherein A 5 is a monovalent or divalent C 1 -C 40 hydrocarbon group, A 4 is a divalent C 1 -C 40 hydrocarbon group, each of Ad 1 and Ad 2 is independently an acid anhydride group selected from —SO 2 —O—SO 2 —, —SO 2 —O—CO— and —CO—O—SO 2 —, and l is 0 or 1, provided that when l is O, -(Ad 2 -A 5 ) l is a hydrogen atom or a bond between A 4 and A 5 , in which A 5 is a divalent hydrocarbon group or a single bond, aminosulfonic esters having the formula R a R b N-A-SO 3 R c , wherein R a and R b are each independently hydrogen, C 1 -C 12 alkyl, C 6 -C 22 aryl, C 7 -C 19 alkylaryl or R a and R b , either singly or in combination, form an aromatic or non-aromatic heterocyclic compound with N, R c is hydrogen, and A is C 1 -C 12 alkyl, C 6 -C 18 aryl, or C 17 -C 19 alkylaryl, ammonium sulfonic esters of the formula R a R b R c N + -A-SO 3 − , wherein R a and R b are each independently hydrogen, C 1 -C 12 alkyl, C 1 -C 12 aryl, C 7 -C 19 alkylaryl, or R a and R b , either singly or in combination, form an aromatic or non-aromatic heterocyclic compound with N, R c is a hydrogen, and A is C 1 -C 12 alkyl, C 6 -C 18 aryl, or C 7 -C 19 alkylaryl, sulfonated polystyrene, methyl acrylate-sulfonated styrene copolymer, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing quenching agents.

8 . The process of claim 1 , further comprising adding an additive, wherein the additive comprises a colorant, a heat stabilizer, an antioxidant, a UV absorbing additive, an antistatic agent, a flow modifier, an anti-fog additive, an antimicrobial agent, a flame retardant, or a combination comprising one or more of the foregoing.

9 . The process of claim 8 , wherein the additive is not acidic.

10 . The process of claim 1 , further comprising extruding, filtering, and pelletizing the polycarbonate composition to form polycarbonate pellets.

11 . An unquenched polycarbonate composition formed by the process of claim 1 .

12 . The unquenched polycarbonate composition of claim 11 , having a haze of less than 1%, tested in accordance with ASTM D1003-00, Procedure B, illuminant C, on a spectrophotometer, at a thickness of 3.2 mm.

13 . A process of forming an article, comprising molding the polycarbonate pellets of claim 10 into an article.

14 . The process of claim 13 , wherein the article is a DVD, a CD, or a Blu-ray disc.

15 . A process for manufacturing a polycarbonate composition comprising:
adding a dihydroxy compound, a carbonate compound, and a catalyst to a mixer, oligomerizing the dihydroxy compound and the carbonate compound to form an oligomer; melt polymerizing the oligomer to form a polymer in a polymerization unit, adding 1 to 400 ppm of glycerol tristearate and any additives to the polymer to form the polycarbonate composition; wherein substantially no quenching agent is added during the process, wherein the polycarbonate has a weight average molecular weight of 8,000 to 19,000 Daltons as determined by gel permeation chromatography and based on polycarbonate standards.

16 . The process of claim 15 , where

Assignees

• Sabic Global Technologies Bv

Inventors

• Fernandez Ignacio Vic
• Hernandez David Del Agua
• Rijken Cornelis Jan Maria

Classifications

• B29C48/0022

  combined with cutting · CPC title

• B29C48/022

  characterised by the choice of material · CPC title

• B29B7/603

  in measured doses, e.g. proportioning of several materials · CPC title

• B29B7/748

  Plants (B29B7/7433, B29B7/7485, B29B7/7495 take precedence) · CPC title

• B29B7/88

  Adding charges {, i.e. additives} · CPC title