Plasticized polymeric compositions
View Patent ↗The present invention provides plasticized polymer compositions comprising an 7V-allcyl-2-pyrrolidone and a fatty acid ester. These compositions exhibit enhanced hardness, tensile strength, and/or elongation at break without the use of phthalate-based plasticizers. The plasticized polymeric compositions can be employed in a wide variety of applications, such as in sheeting, tubing, and coatings.
1. A plasticized polymer composition comprising: (a) an N-alkyl-2-pyrrolidone; and (b) a fatty acid methyl ester; wherein the weight ratio of said N-alkyl-2-pyrrolidone to said fatty acid methyl ester is from about 1:1 to about 1:3 and wherein the plasticized polymer composition has a Shore Hardness A greater than 70 points or more and a tensile strength of about 8 MPa or more.
2. The composition of claim 1 wherein said polymer comprises poly(vinyl chloride).
3. The composition of claim 1 wherein said N-alkyl-2-pyrrolidone is a C4-C30 linear N-alkyl-2-pyrrolidone, a C4-C30 N-branched alkyl-2-pyrrolidone, or C4-C30N-cycloalkyl-2-pyrrolidone.
4. The composition of claim 3 wherein said N-alkyl-2-pyrrolidone is present in an amount from about 1 phr to about 400 phr.
5. The composition of claim 1 wherein said fatty acid methyl ester comprises the methyl ester of octadecenoic acid, the methyl ester of octadecadienoic acid, or the methyl ester of octadecatrienoic acid.
6. The composition of claim 5 wherein said fatty acid methyl ester comprises the methyl ester of octadecenoic acid, the methyl ester of octadecadienoic acid, and the methyl ester of octadecatrienoic acid.
7. The composition of claim 1 wherein said N-alkyl-2-pyrrolidone is present in an amount from about 20 phr to about 30 phr.
8. The composition of claim 1 wherein said fatty acid methyl ester is present in an amount from about 1 phr to about 100 phr.
9. The composition of claim 1 having an elongation at break of about 200% or more.
10. The composition according to claim 1 having a cold-crack temperature less than −60° C.
11. The composition of claim 1 that further comprises one or more secondary plasticizers, stabilizers, lubricants, flame retardants, pigments, or other compounding ingredient.
12. The composition of claim 1 in the form of a calendered sheet, plastisol, foam, dispersion, coating, film, foil, tube, membranes, flooring, gasket, paint, adhesive, textile, textile auxiliary, or fabric.