Hybrid thermoplastic gels and their methods of making

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9736957-B2
Application number	US-201313955243-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 31, 2013
Priority date	Aug 10, 2012
Publication date	Aug 15, 2017
Grant date	Aug 15, 2017

Abstract

Methods, compositions, apparatuses, and systems are provided for a hybrid thermoplastic gel or sealant. The methods comprise providing (a) a base polymer having at least one functional group capable of crosslinking, (b) a functionalized extender, and (c) heat, and reacting the base polymer and functionalized extender in the presence of the heat to form the hybrid thermoplastic gel. The gel composition may comprise 5-40 wt % of a base polymer, 60-95 wt % of a functionalized extender, and 0-10 wt % of a crosslinker. A closure or interconnect system may comprise a housing, a cable, and a hybrid thermoplastic gel or sealant. A telecommunications apparatus may comprise a telecommunications component and a sealant that forms a seal with the telecommunications component. The sealant may comprise a sealant material having a first range of elongation followed by a second range of elongation.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of making a hybrid thermoplastic gel comprising:
providing a base polymer having at least one functional group capable of crosslinking, wherein the base polymer comprises a maleated styrenic block copolymer;
providing a functionalized extender, wherein the functionalized extender is a maleated polyisobutylene;
providing a crosslinker;
providing heat; and
reacting the base polymer, functionalized extender and crosslinker in the presence of the heat to form the hybrid thermoplastic gel.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the crosslinker comprises multiple functional groups that are compatible and willing to react with the functional groups in the base polymer or functionalized extender.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing at least one additive selected from the group consisting of: flame retardants, coloring agents, adhesion promoters, stabilizers, fillers, dispersants, flow improvers, plasticizers, slip agents, toughening agents, and combinations thereof.

4. The method of claim 3 , comprising providing between 0.1 wt % and 5 wt % of the stabilizer.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the stabilizer is selected from the group consisting of antioxidants, acid-scavengers, light and UV absorbers/stabilizers, heat stabilizers, metal deactivators, free radical scavengers, carbon black, antifungal agents, and mixtures thereof.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the styrenic block copolymer is a styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene or styrene-ethylene/propylene-styrene copolymer.

7. A method of making a hybrid thermoplastic gel comprising:
providing a base polymer having at least one functional group capable of crosslinking, wherein the base polymer comprises a maleated styrenic block copolymer;
providing a functionalized extender selected from the group consisting of a maleated polyisobutylene and a maleated polybutadiene, wherein the functionalized extender comprises a single olefin at a terminal position on the extender;
providing a crosslinker;
providing heat and
reacting the base polymer, functionalized extender and crosslinker in the presence of the heat to form the hybrid thermoplastic gel.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gel comprises one or more of the following properties:
a) a hardness between 80 g and 300 g;
b) a stress relaxation between 20% and 65% when the gel is subjected to a deformation of 50% of its original size;
c) a compression set between 4% and 20% after 50% strain has applied to the gel for 1000 hours at 70° C.; and
d) less than 10% oil bleed out after being under compression of 1.2 atm for 60 days at 60° C.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the crosslinker is a covalent crosslinker or an ionic crosslinker.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the ionic crosslinker is an organic metal salt.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the ionic crosslinker is selected from the group consisting of aluminum acetylacetonate, iron acetylacetonate, zinc acetylacetonate, titanium acetylacetonate and zirconium acetylacetonate, aluminum triacetate, aluminium diacetate, aluminium monoacetate, tetra(2-ethylhexyl)titanate, and mixtures thereof.

12. The method of making a hybrid thermoplastic gel according to claim 1 , comprising
mixing a gel composition at an elevated temperature, wherein the gel composition comprises, compared to the weight of the overall gel composition:
5-40 wt % of the base polymer having at least one functional group capable of crosslinking, wherein the base polymer comprises a maleated styrenic block copolymer;
60-95 wt % of the functionalized extender, wherein the functionalized extender is a maleated polyisobutylene; and
the crosslinker.

13. The method of making a hybrid thermoplastic gel according to claim 12 , wherein the gel composition comprises 0.1-5 wt % of the crosslinker.

14. The method of making a hybrid thermoplastic gel according to claim 12 , wherein the gel composition further comprises a styrenic block copolymer selected from the group consisting of a
polystyrene-poly(ethylene-propylene) diblock copolymer,
a polystyrene-poly(ethylene-butylene)-polystyrene triblock copolymer,
a polystyrene-poly(ethylene-butylene-styrene)-polystyrene triblock copolymer,
a polystyrene-poly(ethylene-propylene)-polystyrene triblock copolymer,
a polystyrene-polybutadiene-poly(styrene-butadiene)-polybutadiene block copolymer, and
a polystyrene-poly(ethylene-ethylene/propylene)-polystyrene triblock copolymer.

15. The method of claim 7 , wherein the crosslinker comprises multiple functional groups that are compatible and willing to react with the functional groups in the base polymer or functionalized extender.

16. The method of claim 7 , further comprising providing at least one additive selected from the group consisting of: flame retardants, coloring agents, adhesion promoters, stabilizers, fillers, dispersants, flow improvers, plasticizers, slip agents, toughening agents, and combinations thereof.

17. The method of claim 16 , comprising providing between 0.1 wt % and 5 wt % of the stabilizer.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the stabilizer is selected from the group consisting of antioxidants, acid-scavengers, light and UV absorbers/stabilizers, heat stabilizers, metal deactivators, free radical scavengers, carbon black, antifungal agents, and mixtures thereof.

19. The method of claim 7 , wherein the styrenic block copolymer is a styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene or styrene-ethylene/propylene-styrene copolymer.

20. The method of claim 7 , wherein the gel comprises one or more of the following properties:
a) a hardness between 80 g and 300 g;
b) a stress relaxation between 20% and 65% when the gel is subjected to a deformation of 50% of its original size;
c) a compression set between 4% and 20% after 50% strain has applied to the gel for 1000 hours at 70° C.; and
d) less than 10% oil bleed out after being under compression of 1.2 atm for 60 days at 60° C.

21. The method of claim 7 , wherein the crosslinker is a covalent crosslinker or an ionic crosslinker.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the ionic crosslinker is an organic metal salt.

23. The method of claim 21 , wherein the ionic crosslinker is selected from the group consisting of aluminum acetylacetonate, iron acetylacetonate, zinc acetylacetonate, titanium acetylacetonate and zirconium acetylacetonate, aluminum triacetate, aluminium diacetate, aluminium monoacetate, tetra(2-ethylhexyl)titanate, and mixtures thereof.

24. The method of making a hybrid thermoplastic gel according to claim 7 , comprising
mixing a gel composition at an elevated temperature, wherein the gel composition comprises, compared to the weight of the overall gel composition:
5-40 wt % of the base polymer having at least one functional group capable of crosslinking, wherein the base polymer comprises a maleated styrenic block copolymer;
60-95 wt % of the functionalized extender selected from the group consisting of a maleated polyisobutylene and a maleated polybutadiene; and
the crosslinker.

25. The method of making a hybrid thermoplastic gel according to claim 24 , wherein the gel composition comprises 0.1-5 wt % of the crosslinker.

26. The method of making a hybrid thermoplastic gel according to claim 24 , wherein the gel composition further comprises a styrenic block copolymer selected from the group consisting of a
polystyrene-poly(ethylene-pr

Assignees

• Commscope Technologies Llc

Inventors

• Adams Gary W
• Mullaney Julian S
• Oar Michael A

Classifications

• C08L53/005

  Modified block copolymers · CPC title

• Y10T428/1352

  Polymer or resin containing [i.e., natural or synthetic] · CPC title

• C08J5/00 Primary

  Manufacture of articles or shaped materials containing macromolecular substances (manufacture of semi-permeable membranes B01D67/00 - B01D71/00) · CPC title

• C08L25/08

  Copolymers of styrene (C08L29/08, C08L35/06, C08L55/02 take precedence) · CPC title

• C09K2200/0617

  Polyalkenes · CPC title