METHOD FOR PRODUCING (METH)ACRYLIC RESIN COMPOSITION, METHOD FOR PRODUCING (METH)ACRYLIC RESIN SHAPED ARTICLE, (METH)ACRYLIC RESIN SHAPED ARTICLE, FRONT-SURFACE PLATE FOR LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY DEVICE, AND TOUCH PANEL

1 . A production method of a (meth)acrylic resin composition comprising a (meth)acrylic polymer (A) having a methyl methacrylate unit and an olefin-alkyl(meth)acrylate copolymer (B),

wherein the (meth)acrylic polymer (A) is produced by polymerizing a monomer material containing methyl methacrylate in the presence of an olefin-alkyl(meth)acrylate copolymer (B) using a polymerization initiator represented by formula (1)

(CH 3 ) 3 C—O—O—CO—R  (1)

wherein R is a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms or an alkoxy group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms.

2 . The production method according to claim 1 , wherein the (meth)acrylic polymer (A) having a methyl methacrylate unit is produced by bulk polymerization of a monomer material containing methyl methacrylate in the presence of the olefin-alkyl(meth)acrylate copolymer (B) using the polymerization initiator represented by the formula (1).

3 . The production method according to claim 1 , wherein the (meth)acrylic polymer (A) comprises a methyl methacrylate (a) unit and a (meth)acrylate (b) unit containing a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 11 carbon atoms but is not the methyl methacrylate (a), a monomer (c) unit having at least two ethylenically unsaturated bonds in the molecule, and a vinyl monomer (d) unit which is not any of monomers (a)˜(c).

4 . A production method of a (meth)acrylic resin shaped article comprising a (meth)acrylic polymer (A) having a methyl methacrylate unit and an olefin-alkyl(meth)acrylate copolymer (B), comprising steps (1a), (2a) and 3:

step 1a: obtaining a syrup by polymerizing at least part of a monomer material containing methyl methacrylate;

step 2a: obtaining a (meth)acrylic resin shaped article by pouring into a mold the syrup and, if necessary, the remaining monomer material containing methyl methacrylate, and by conducting polymerization; and

step 3: taking out a (meth)acrylic resin shaped article from the mold,

wherein polymerization is conducted in the presence of an olefin-alkyl(meth)acrylate copolymer (B) in at least one of steps (1a) and (2a), and

polymerization is conducted using the polymerization initiator represented by formula (1) in at least one of steps (1a) and (2a):

(CH 3 ) 3 C—O—O—CO—R  (1)

wherein R is a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms or an alkoxy group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms.

5 . A production method of a (meth)acrylic resin shaped article comprising a (meth)acrylic polymer (A) having a methyl methacrylate unit and an olefin-alkyl(meth)acrylate copolymer (B), comprising steps (1b), (2b) and 3:

step 1b: preparing a polymer mixture that contains a monomer material having methyl methacrylate, an olefin-alkyl(meth)acrylate copolymer (B) and a polymerization initiator represented by formula (1)

(CH 3 ) 3 C—O—O—CO—R  (1)

wherein R is a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms or an alkoxy group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms;

step 2b: obtaining a (meth)acrylic resin shaped article by pouring the polymer mixture into a mold, and by polymerizing the mixture; and

step 3: taking out a (meth)acrylic resin shaped article from the mold.

6 . The production method of a (meth)acrylic resin shaped article according to claim 4 , wherein the (meth)acrylic polymer (A) comprises a methyl methacrylate (a) unit, a (meth)acrylate (b) unit containing a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 11 carbon atoms but is not methyl methacrylate (a), a monomer (c) unit having at least 2 ethylenically unsaturated bonds in the molecule, and a vinyl monomer (d) unit which is not any of (a) through (c).

7 . A (meth)acrylic resin shaped article, wherein the article has a thickness of 2 mm or less, a 50% impact-failure height based on ISO 6603-1 of 100 mm or greater; and a change in haze values of 1% or less before and after thermal cycle testing under the conditions below:

<thermal cycle testing method>

size of test piece: 10 mm×10 mm square

temperature inside chamber: 85±0.5° C. in high-temperature chamber, −40±0.5° C. in low-temperature chamber,

holding duration in chamber: 30 minutes in high-temperature chamber, 30 minutes in low-temperature chamber,

time spent for transferring between high-temperature chamber and low-temperature chamber: 10 seconds or less

number of test cycles: 72.

8 . The (meth)acrylic resin shaped article according to claim 7 , wherein the (meth)acrylic polymer (A) comprises a methyl methacrylate (a) unit, a (meth)acrylate (b) unit having a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 11 carbon atoms but is not methyl methacrylate (a), a monomer (c) unit having at least 2 ethylenically unsaturated bonds in the molecule, and a vinyl monomer (d) unit which is not any of (a) through (c).

9 . A front-surface plate of a liquid-crystal display produced from the shaped article comprising the (meth)acrylic resin composition obtained by the method according to claim 1 .

10 . A touch panel produced from the shaped article comprising the (meth)acrylic resin composition obtained by the method according to claim 1 .

11 . A front-surface plate of a liquid-crystal display produced from the (meth)acrylic resin shaped article according to claim 7 .

12 . A touch panel produced from the (meth)acrylic resin shaped article according to claim 7 .

13 . The production method according to claim 2 , wherein the (meth)acrylic polymer (A) comprises a methyl methacrylate (a) unit, a (meth)acrylate (b) unit containing a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 11 carbon atoms but is not the methyl methacrylate (a), a monomer (c) unit having at least two ethylenically unsaturated bonds in the molecule, and a vinyl monomer (d) unit which is not any of monomers (a)˜(c).

14 . The production method according to claim 5 , wherein the (meth)acrylic polymer (A) comprises a methyl methacrylate (a) unit, a (meth)acrylate (b) unit containing a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 11 carbon atoms but is not methyl methacrylate (a), a monomer (c) unit having at least 2 ethylenically unsaturated bonds in the molecule, and a vinyl monomer (d) unit which is not any of (a) through (c).

15 . A front-surface plate of a liquid-crystal display produced from the shaped article comprising the (meth)acrylic resin composition obtained by the method according to claim 2 .

16 . A touch panel produced from the shaped article comprising the (meth)acrylic resin composition obtained by the method according to claim 2 .

17 . A front-surface plate of a liquid-crystal display produced from the (meth)acrylic resin shaped article according to claim 8 .

18 . A touch panel produced from the (meth)acrylic resin shaped article according to claim 8 .