Thermoplastic elastomer composition, method of making and articles thereof
View Patent ↗A composition comprises a poly(arylene ether); a block copolymer comprising a first block and a second block wherein the first block comprises repeating aryl alkylene units and the second block comprises repeating alkylene units; and an ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer wherein the poly(arylene ether) and the block copolymer form a dual phase co-continuous morphology.
1. A composition comprising:
a poly(arylene ether);
a block copolymer comprising a first block and a second block wherein the first block comprises repeating aryl alkylene units and the second block comprises repeating alkylene units; and
an ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer having a vinyl aliphatic acid content of 50 to 80 weight percent based on the total weight of the ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer, wherein the poly(arylene ether) and the block copolymer form a dual phase co-continuous morphology and the ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer is dispersed in the co-continuous phases.
2. The composition of claim 1 wherein the composition is essentially free from delamination upon visual inspection.
3. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition is substantially free from delamination upon visual inspection.
4. The composition of claim 1 further comprising a homopolymer of an alkenyl aromatic monomer.
5. The composition of claim 4 , wherein the combined amount of poly(arylene ether) and homopolymer of an alkenyl aromatic monomer is 25 to 40 weight percent based on the combined weight of the poly(arylene ether), block copolymer, ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer and homopolymer of alkenyl aromatic copolymer.
6. The composition of claim 4 wherein the weight ratio of poly(arylene ether) to homopolymer is 1:99 to 99:1.
7. The composition of claim 6 wherein the weight ratio of poly(arylene ether) to homopolymer is greater than or equal to 60:40.
8. The composition of claim 1 wherein the composition has an ultimate elongation of 150% to 350% as determined by ASTM D 412-98A using a strain rate of 200 millimeters per minute.
9. The composition of claim 1 wherein the composition has a tensile modulus at 50% of the ultimate elongation of 12 Megapascals to 25 Megapascals as determined by ASTM D 412-98A.
10. The composition of claim 1 wherein after 10 recycles the composition retains greater than or equal to 100% of the tensile strength of the virgin composition.
11. The composition of claim 1 wherein the composition, when injection molded into test specimens, retains greater than or equal to 80% of the tensile modulus after heat aging at 80° C. for 500 hours.
12. The composition of claim 1 wherein the composition comprises 25 to 40 weight percent of poly(arylene ether) based on the combined weight of poly(arylene ether), block copolymer and ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer.
13. The composition of claim 1 wherein the block copolymer has an aryl alkylene content greater than or equal to 25 weight percent based on the total weight of the block copolymer.
14. The composition of claim 1 wherein the block copolymer has a weight average molecular weight 75,000 to 120,000 gram per mole as determined by gel permeation chromatography using polystyrene standards.
15. The composition of claim 1 wherein the block copolymer is present in an amount of 30 to 70 weight percent based on the combined weight of poly(arylene ether), block copolymer and ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer.
16. The composition of claim 1 wherein the ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer is present in an amount of 5 to 40 weight percent based on the combined weight of poly(arylene ether), block copolymer and ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer.
17. The composition of claim 1 wherein the composition is substantially free of a rubber modified poly(alkenyl aromatic) resin.
18. The composition of claim 1 further comprising an anti-oxidant, flame retardant, drip retardant, dye, pigment, colorant, stabilizer, reinforcing filler, antistatic agent, nanofiller, surface treated nanofiller, plasticizer, lubricant, cross linking agent, cross linking accelerator, or a mixture comprising two or more of the foregoing.
19. The composition of claim 1 wherein the ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer is an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.
20. A composition consisting of:
25 to 40 weight percent of a combination of a poly(arylene ether) and a homopolymer of an alkenyl aromatic monomer;
30 to 70 weight percent of a block copolymer comprising a first block and a second block wherein the first block comprises repeating aryl alkylene units and the second block comprises repeating alkylene units;
5 to 40 weight percent of an ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer having a vinyl aliphatic acid content of 50 to 80 weight percent based on the total weight of the ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer; and
0 to 25 weight percent of one or more additives selected from the group consisting of anti-oxidants, flame retardants, drip retardants, dyes, pigments, colorants, stabilizers, reinforcing filler, antistatic agents, nanofillers, surface treated nanofillers, plasticizers, lubricants, cross linking agents, and cross linking accelerators,
wherein weight percent is based on the combined weight of poly(arylene ether), homopolymer of an alkenyl aromatic monomer, block copolymer and ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer.
21. The composition of claim 20 , wherein the composition is essentially free of delamination.
22. The composition of claim 20 , wherein the composition is substantially free of delamination.
23. The composition of claim 20 , wherein the composition has an ultimate elongation greater than or equal to 150% as determined by ASTM D 412-98a using a strain rate of 200 millimeters per minute (mm/min).
24. A composition comprising:
25 to 40 weight percent of a combination of a poly(arylene ether) and a homopolymer of an alkenyl aromatic monomer;
30 to 70 weight percent of a block copolymer comprising a first block and a second block wherein the first block comprises repeating aryl alkylene units and the second block comprises repeating alkylene units; and
5 to 40 weight percent of an ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer having a vinyl aliphatic acid content of 50 to 80 weight percent based on the total weight of the ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer,
wherein weight percent is based on the combined weight of poly(arylene ether), homopolymer of an alkenyl aromatic monomer, block copolymer and ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer, wherein the composition has an ultimate elongation greater than or equal to 150% as determined by ASTM D412-98a using a strain rate of 200 millimeters per minute.
25. The composition of claim 24 , wherein the composition is essentially free of delamination.
26. The composition of claim 24 , wherein the composition is substantially free of delamination.
27. The composition of claim 24 wherein the weight ratio of poly(arylene ether) to homopolymer is 1:99 to 99:1.
28. The composition of claim 27 wherein the weight ratio of poly(arylene ether) to homopolymer is greater than or equal to 60:40.
29. The composition of claim 24 wherein the composition has a tensile modulus at 50% of the ultimate elongation of 12 Megapascals to 25 Megapascals as determined by ASTM D 412-98A.
30. The composition of claim 24 wherein after 1 to 10 recycles the composition has a tensile strength that is greater than or equal to 100% of the tensile strength of the virgin composition as determined by ASTM D 412-98A.
31. The composition of claim 24 wherein the composition, when injection molded into test specimens, retains greater than or equal to 80% of the tensile modulus after heat aging at 80° C. for 500 hours.
32. The composition of claim 24 wherein the block copolymer has a weight average molecular weight 75,000 to 120,000 gram per mole as determined by gel permeation chromatography using polystyrene standards.
33. The composition of claim 24 wherein the block copolymer has an aryl alkylene content greater than or equal to 25 weight percent based on the total weight of the block copolymer.
34. The composition of claim 24 wherein the composition is substantially free of a rubber modified poly(alkenyl aromatic) resin.
35. The composition of claim 24 further comprising an anti-oxidant, flame retardant, drip retardant, dye, pigment, colorant, stabilizer, reinforcing filler, antistatic agent, nanofiller, surface treated nanofiller, plasticizer, lubricant, cross linking agent, cross linking accelerator, or a mixture comprising two or more of the foregoing.
36. The composition of claim 24 wherein the ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer is an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.
37. A method of making a composition comprising melt blending
25 to 40 weight percent of a combination of a poly(arylene ether) and an optional homopolymer of an alkenyl aromatic monomer;
30 to 70 weight percent of a block copolymer comprising a first block and a second block wherein the first block comprises repeating aryl alkylene units and the second block comprises repeating alkylene units; and
5 to 40 weight percent of an ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer having a vinyl aliphatic acid content of 50 to 80 weight percent based on the total weight of the ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer,
wherein weight percent is based on the combined weight of poly(arylene ether), homopolymer of an alkenyl aromatic monomer, block copolymer and ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer.
38. A method of making a composition comprising:
melt blending a poly(arylene ether) and a homopolymer of an alkenyl aromatic monomer to form a poly(arylene ether)/ alkenyl aromatic homopolymer blend; and
melt blending 25 to 40 weight percent of the poly(arylene ether)/ alkenyl aromatic homopolymer blend with 30 to 70 weight percent of a block copolymer comprising a first block and a second block wherein the first block comprises repeating aryl alkylene units and the second block comprises repeating alkylene units and 5 to 40 weight percent of an ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer having a vinyl aliphatic acid content of 50 to 80 weight percent based on the total weight of the ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer,
wherein weight percent is based on the combined weight of poly(arylene ether), homopolymer of an alkenyl aromatic monomer, block copolymer and ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer.
39. An article comprising a thermoplastic composition wherein the thermoplastic composition comprises:
25 to 40 weight percent of a combination of a poly(arylene ether) and a homopolymer of an alkenyl aromatic monomer;
30 to 70 weight percent of a block copolymer comprising a first block and a second block wherein the first block comprises repeating aryl alkylene units and the second block comprises repeating alkylene units; and
5 to 40 weight percent of an ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer having a vinyl aliphatic acid content of 50 to 80 weight percent based on the total weight of the ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer,
wherein weight percent is based on the combined weight of poly(arylene ether), homopolymer of an alkenyl aromatic monomer, block copolymer and ethylene-vinyl aliphatic acid copolymer, and wherein the composition has an ultimate elongation greater than or equal to 150% as determined by ASTM D412-98a using a strain rate of 200 millimeters per minute.
40. The article of claim 39 wherein the article is a weather seal, fuel hose, gasket, sound damper, vibration damper, or thermoplastic coating for electrical wire.