Hybrid thermoplastic gels and their methods of making
View Patent ↗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.
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-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.