Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
  • C08F—MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING CARBON-TO-CARBON UNSATURATED BONDS
  • C08F292/00—Macromolecular compounds obtained by polymerising monomers on to inorganic materials
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
  • C08K—Use of inorganic or non-macromolecular organic substances as compounding ingredients
  • C08K3/00—Use of inorganic substances as compounding ingredients
  • C08K3/18—Oxygen-containing compounds, e.g. metal carbonyls
  • C08K3/20—Oxides; Hydroxides
  • C08K3/22—Oxides; Hydroxides of metals

Definitions

• the present invention relates to an abrasion resistant polymer composition and a process for its preparation.
• Acrylic sheet materials are widely used for building and glazing applications and to form various shaped articles such as baths, sinks, vanity units and shower trays.
• the abrasion resistance of the acrylic sheet used in such applications is normally required to be as high as possible.
• One method that is currently used to improve the abrasion resistance of acrylic surfaces involves the application of an abrasion resistant coating to the surface of an acrylic sheet.
• the coating is typically applied in solution to the acrylic sheet and is then cured, for example by radiation (UV), solvent evaporation or by thermal curing.
• UV radiation
• EP-A-571808 discloses antifogging film, plates and articles comprising an acrylic polymer support and a polymerised and UV reticulated abrasion resistant coating containing acrylic monomers and hydrophilic metal oxide(s).
• abrasion-resistant coatings can enhance the performance of acrylic surfaces against abrasion, their use on acrylic sheet which is to be shaped, e.g. by thermoforming, may be limited by the relatively inelastic nature of the coating, which may cause cracking of the coating as the surface is deformed.
• Conventional coating technology requires a two step process: polymerising the sheet o followed by coating and curing the abrasion resistant formulation. In practice, this often requires a clean room environment to ensure no dust particles become incorporated into the surface layer. There is therefore a significant manufacturing advantage to be gained for an abrasion resistant product which may be delivered in a one-step process.
• the present invention provides an acrylic composition
• an acrylic composition comprising at least 70% w/w of the residues of at least one polymerisable acrylic monomer, 0.2 - 5% w/w of a finely divided compound comprising at least one oxide selected from silicon, titanium, zirconium and aluminium oxides, and 0.2 - 25% w/w of at least one linking compound which is miscible with said polymerisable acrylic monomer and which is capable of bonding to the surface of the oxide compound.
• the present invention provides a polymerisable composition
• a polymerisable composition comprising at least 70% w/w of at least one polymerisable acrylic monomer, 0.2 - 5% w/w of a finely divided compound comprising at least one oxide selected from silicon, titanium, zirconium and aluminium oxides, and 0.2 - 25% w/w of at least one linking compound which is miscible with said polymerisable acrylic compound and which is capable of bonding to the surface of the oxide compound.
• the present invention provides a process for forming an acrylic composition comprising the steps of:
• the polymerisable acrylic monomers are alkyl (alk)acrylic acids and esters thereof, including functionalised monomers such as hydroxy, halogen or amine functionalised acrylate or methacrylate monomers.
• the monomer(s) comprise one or more alkyl acrylates, alkyl methacrylates or acrylic or methacryiic acid, e.g. methyl, ethyl, hydroxyethyl, butyl, 2-ethylhexyl, cyclohexyi or phenyl esters of acrylic acid or methacryiic acid.
• Suitable compounds include hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), hexanediol diacrylate, tripropylglycol methacrylate, ethylene glycol monopropylether, 3-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane and ethanolamine or mixtures thereof.
• HEMA hydroxyethyl methacrylate
• hexanediol diacrylate tripropylglycol methacrylate
• ethylene glycol monopropylether 3-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane and ethanolamine or mixtures thereof.
• Some compounds may perform the function of the linking compound adequately whilst having certain disadvantages in certain applications, e.g. the use of coloured compounds or compounds which develop a colour under the conditions of manufacture of the composition or any article made therefrom may be unsuitable when a clear product is required.
• the finely divided oxide compound preferably has an average particle size between 1 and 50 nm, more preferably between 5 and 35 nm.
• a preferred oxide compound is colloidal silica.
• the oxide compound is preferably added to the acrylic monomer or polymer/monomer solution in the form of a dispersion in the linking compound.
• Suitable dispersions are available commercially for use as coating compositions to provide abrasion resistant coatings. Examples of suitable commercial dispersions include the HIGHLINKTM compounds available from Clariant, e.g. Highlink OG 100-30.
• the ratio of said linking compound to said finely divided oxide is preferably in the range 1:1 - 5:1 (more preferably 2:1 - 4:1) by weight.
• the dispersion is preferably present at 0.2 to 10%, more preferably 2 to 8% by weight in the polymerisable composition.
• the acrylic compositions can be made by conventional free radical, anionic or other polymerisation techniques, for example bulk, solution or suspension with the addition of suitable initiators and optionally chain transfer agents and/or other additives such as cross-linking additives, fillers, pigments, plasticisers, impact modifiers, stabilisers etc. Therefore the monomer(s) are caused to polymerise by initiating the polymerisation reaction, normally by means of activating the added initiator, and maintaining suitable conditions, e.g. an elevated temperature, pressure etc until the required degree of polymerisation has been achieved.
• suitable conditions e.g. an elevated temperature, pressure etc until the required degree of polymerisation has been achieved.
• suitable conditions e.g. an elevated temperature, pressure etc.
• free-radical polymerisation is used, e.g.
• the method of polymerising the polymer may also be selected from suspension polymerisation, solution polymerisation or by crushing or pelletising a bulk polymerised product.
• Methods of forming acrylic polymers by suspension or solution polymerisation are well known in the art and therefore need not be further described.
• AIBN 2,2 - azobisisobutyronitrile
• HIGHLINKTM OG 100-30 from Clariant
• MMA methylmethacrylate
• the mixture was then post cured for 2 hours at 60 °C followed by 2 hours at 80 °C, followed by heating at a rate of 0.5 °C /min up to 118 °C and held at 118 °C for 1 hour.
• the cell was then cooled and the glass sheets removed to release the resulting cast PMMA sheet.
• a photoinitiator (DarocurTM 1173) was added at 2% w/w prior to coating. The coating was applied at a wet thickness of 4 microns and cured under UV light in a commercial UV coating apparatus. The coated samples were then tested as described in example 1. The results show that the abrasion resistance performance was comparable to that of Examples 1 & 2.

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• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Medicinal Chemistry (AREA)
• Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Inorganic Chemistry (AREA)
• Materials Engineering (AREA)
• Polymerisation Methods In General (AREA)
• Compositions Of Macromolecular Compounds (AREA)
• Addition Polymer Or Copolymer, Post-Treatments, Or Chemical Modifications (AREA)

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Publications (1)

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Cited By (2)

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Citations (5)

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• 1998
  • 1998-07-21 GB GBGB9815730.8A patent/GB9815730D0/en not_active Ceased
• 1999
  • 1999-07-09 EP EP99931382A patent/EP1112295B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-07-09 US US09/744,162 patent/US6794439B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-07-09 ES ES99931382T patent/ES2400230T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-07-09 JP JP2000561239A patent/JP2003529618A/ja active Pending
  • 1999-07-09 AU AU47918/99A patent/AU768611B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1999-07-09 WO PCT/GB1999/002206 patent/WO2000005284A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1999-07-09 PL PL345660A patent/PL199891B1/pl unknown
  • 1999-07-23 TW TW088112537A patent/TW505663B/zh not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2001
  • 2001-01-17 ZA ZA200100485A patent/ZA200100485B/xx unknown

Patent Citations (5)

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