Pressure sensitively adhesive polyacrylates

1. A pressure sensitively adhesive composition comprising:

i) A pressure sensitively adhesive polyacrylate having functional groups, and

ii) crosslinked polymer particles having functional groups,

wherein the functional groups of the particles are capable of coupling with the functional groups of the polyacrylate adhesive, said polyacrylate being formed from a monomer mixture comprising at least the following components:

(a) from 60 to 99% by weight of one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid derivatives and methacrylic acid derivatives of the formula

CH 2 ═CH(R 1 )(COOR 2 )  (I)

 where R 1 is H or CH 3 and R 2 is an alkyl chain having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms,

(b) from 1 to 10% by weight of one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of vinyl monomers, acrylic monomers, and methacrylate monomers, containing a group X capable of chemical coupling,

and said polymer particles containing at feast two functional groups Y, and Z, which are capable of chemical coupling with the functional group X in the form of a substitution or addition reaction.

2. The pressure sensitively adhesive composition of claim 1 , wherein said particles comprise up to 30% by weight of the total amount of said particles and said polyacrylate.

3. The pressure sensitive adhesive composition of claim 2 , wherein said particles comprise up to 25% by weight of the total amount of said polymer particles and said polyacrylate.

4. The pressure sensitive adhesive composition of claim 3 , wherein said particles comprise up to 5% by weight of the total amount of said polymer particles and said polyacrylate.

5. The pressure sensitively adhesive composition as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the polymer particles have a size of from 10 to 500 μm.

6. The pressure sensitively adhesive composition of claim 5 , wherein said particle size is from 50 μm to 200 μm.

7. The pressure sensitively adhesive composition of claim 6 , wherein said particle size is from 75 μm to 150 μm.

8. The pressure sensitively adhesive composition as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said monomer mixture further comprises:

(c) up to 30% by weight of vinyl compounds containing functional groups.

9. The pressure sensitively adhesive composition of claim 8 , wherein said vinyl compounds (c) are selected from the group consisting of styrene, styrene derivatives and vinyl acetate.

10. The pressure sensitively adhesive composition as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said polymer particles comprise polymethylmethacrylate particles, polystyrene particles or both.

11. The pressure sensitively adhesive composition as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the functional groups Y and Z of the polymer particles are selected independently of one another from the group consisting of:

hydrazines, amines, phenols, tosyl chlorides, isocyanates, aldehydes, carbonates, phosphines, carbodiimides, N-methylmorpholines, oxazolidines, and sulfonic acid groups.

12. The pressure sensitive adhesive composition of claim 1 , wherein said polyacrylate is formed by free radical polymerization of said monomer mixture.

13. A process for preparing a crosslinked pressure sensitive adhesive based on polyacrylates, wherein

a polyacrylate is prepared by free radical polymerization of a monomer mixture comprising at least the following components:

(a) from 60 to 99% by weight of acrylic acid and methacrylic acid derivatives of formula

CH 2 ═CH(R 1 )(COOR 2 )  (I)

where R 1 is H or CH 3 and R 2 is an alkyl chain having from 2 to 20 carbon atoms

(b) from 1 to 10% by weight of vinyl, acrylic or methacrylate monomers, or a combination thereof, having a group X capable of chemical coupling, so that the polyacrylate contains free groups X,

the pressure sensitive adhesive is concentrated to a melt having a solvent content <2% by weight,

the pressure sensitive adhesive is blended in the melt with crosslinked and functionalized polymer particles at a temperature below a critical reaction temperature T in a measuring mixer, the polymer particles containing at least two functional groups Y and Z which are capable of chemical coupling with the functional group X by a substitution or addition reaction,

a crosslinking reaction is carried out by bringing the temperature of the blend to at least the critical reaction temperature T, at which the coupling reaction between the functional group X of the polyacrylate and the functional groups Y and Z of the polymer particles takes place.

14. The process as claimed in claim 13 , wherine the blend is applied from the melt to a backing material prior to the crosslinking reaction.

15. A pressure sensitive single-sided or double-sided adhesive tape prepared by the process of claim 14 .

16. The process of claim 13 , wherein X, Y or Z, or any combination of them, are blocked isocyanate groups.