Esterified acids for use in polymeric materials

1. A method comprising:

providing a first amount of esterified reaction product of a phosphoric acid and an epoxide in a controlled manner for avoiding gelling, the esterified reaction product having a first viscosity that is higher than the viscosity of the phosphoric acid;

providing a second amount of epoxy resin suitable for reaction with the esterified reaction product, the epoxy resin having a second viscosity;

mixing the esterified reaction product and the epoxy resin to form a generally homogeneous mixture of reactants;

reacting the epoxy resin with the esterified reaction product to form a polymeric epoxy that includes at least one phosphorus atom and has a weight average molecular weight of at least about 10,000 daltons.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first viscosity and the second viscosity are such that during the step of mixing, homogeneity is achieved prior to a third viscosity being realized in the mixture that is higher than each of the first viscosity and second viscosity.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first amount of reaction product relative to the second amount of epoxy resin are in a ratio of about 4:1 to about 1:4, or about 2:1 to about 1:2.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the esterified reaction product has a pH of below about 3.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein a step is included of introducing a physical and/or a blowing agent so that the resulting polymeric epoxy is a foam.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first amount of reaction product relative to the second amount of epoxy resin are in a ratio of about 1:1.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method includes a step of forming an esterified reaction product by reacting a monofunctional epoxide with a phosphoric acid.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the reacting a monofunctional epoxide with a phosphoric acid includes introducing an amount of monofunctional epoxide into a volume of phosphoric acid.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the monofunctional epoxide is an aliphatic and/or an aromatic epoxide.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the monofunctional epoxide has an epoxy equivalent weight of from at least about 25 g/mol to less than about 200 g/mol.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the functionality of the phosphoric acid ester is from at least about 1.5 to less than about 2.5.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method includes a step of combining for reaction a stoichiometric excess amount of the esterified reaction product, relative to the epoxy resin, in the presence of an inorganic compound.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the inorganic compound is provided in an amount and under conditions to that it reacts with the esterified reaction product to form a gas and the esterified reaction product also reacts with the epoxide for aiding in curing.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the epoxy resin and the inorganic compound are mixed together and optionally stored together while the esterified reaction product is isolated from them prior to reaction.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the inorganic compound is an oxygen-containing compound, and/or contains a metal or a metalloid.

16. A method comprising:

providing a first amount of esterified reaction product of a phosphoric acid and an epoxide in a controlled manner for avoiding gelling, the esterified reaction product having a first viscosity that is higher than the viscosity of the phosphoric acid;

providing a second amount of epoxy resin suitable for reaction with the esterified reaction product, the epoxy resin having a second viscosity;

mixing the esterified reaction product and the epoxy resin to form a generally homogeneous mixture of reactants;

reacting the epoxy resin with the esterified reaction product to form a polymeric epoxy that includes at least one phosphorus atom and has a weight average molecular weight of at least about 10,000 daltons, and

wherein the polymeric epoxy is adapted for cavity filling, cavity reinforcement, acoustic modification, adhesives, flame retardant foam, flame retardant adhesive, flame retardant thermoplastics, or films.

17. A method comprising:

providing a first amount of esterified reaction product of a phosphoric acid and an epoxide in a controlled manner for avoiding gelling, the esterified reaction product having a first viscosity that is higher than the viscosity of the phosphoric acid;

providing a second amount of epoxy resin suitable for reaction with the esterified reaction product, the epoxy resin having a second viscosity;

mixing the esterified reaction product and the epoxy resin to form a generally homogeneous mixture of reactants;

reacting the epoxy resin with the esterified reaction product to form a polymeric epoxy that includes at least one phosphorus atom and has a weight average molecular weight of at least about 10,000 daltons, and

wherein the polymeric epoxy exhibits sufficient flame retardancy to meet one or more of the requirements for demonstrating flame retardancy.

18. A method comprising:

providing a first amount of esterified reaction product of a phosphoric acid and an epoxide in a controlled manner for avoiding gelling, the esterified reaction product having a first viscosity that is higher than the viscosity of the phosphoric acid;

providing a second amount of epoxy resin suitable for reaction with the esterified reaction product, the epoxy resin having a second viscosity;

mixing the esterified reaction product and the epoxy resin to form a generally homogeneous mixture of reactants;

reacting the epoxy resin with the esterified reaction product to form a polymeric epoxy that includes at least one phosphorus atom and has a weight average molecular weight of at least about 10,000 daltons, and

wherein the polymeric epoxy is free of any additional blowing agent.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the esterified reaction product includes a plurality of monoesters and diesters, wherein the diesters are present in an amount of less than 25% of the amount of monoesters as measured by NMR.