POLYETHERIMIDE COMPOSITIONS, METHOD OF MANUFACTURE, AND ARTICLES MADE THEREFROM

1 . A thermoplastic composition comprising,

10-60 weight percent of a polyetherimide, a polyetherimide-siloxane, or a combination thereof;

35-60 weight percent of a thermoplastic polyester elastomer comprising a hard segment comprising a polyester block, and a soft segment comprising a polyether block, an amorphous polyester block, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing;

0-20 weight percent of polyester;

0-50 weight percent of one or more flame retardants; and

0-20 weight percent of one or more additives;

wherein the weight percent of each component is based on the total weight of the composition.

2 . The thermoplastic composition of claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic composition has one or more of the following properties:

a notched Izod impact strength of greater than or equal to 50 Jim as determined by ASTM D256 at 23° C.;

a tensile stress at break of greater than or equal to 20 MPa as determined by ASTM D638 at 23° C.; and

a tensile elongation at break of greater than or equal to 10% as determined by ASTM D638 at 23° C.

3 . The thermoplastic composition of claim 1 , wherein the polyetherimide comprises units of the formula

wherein

R is a C 2-20 hydrocarbon group,

T is —O— or a group of the formula —O—Z—O— wherein the divalent bonds of the —O— or the —O—Z—O— group are in the 3,3′, 3,4′, 4,3′, or the 4,4′ positions, and Z is an aromatic C 6-24 monocyclic or polycyclic group optionally substituted with 1 to 6 C 1-8 alkyl groups, 1-8 halogen atoms, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.

4 . The thermoplastic composition of claim 3 , wherein R is a divalent group of the formula

wherein Q 1 is —O—, —S—, —C(O)—, —SO 2 —, —SO—, —C y H 2y —, and a halogenated derivative thereof, wherein y is an integer from 1 to 5, or —(C 6 H 10 ) z — wherein z is an integer from 1 to 4; and

wherein Z is a group derived from a dihydroxy compound of the formula

wherein

R a and R b are each independently a halogen atom or a monovalent C 1-6 alkyl group;

p and q are each independently 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4;

c is 0 to 4; and

Xa is a single bond, —O—, —S—, —S(O)—, —SO 2 —, —C(O)—, or a C 1-18 organic bridging group.

5 . The thermoplastic composition of claim 3 , wherein each R is independently meta-phenylene, para-phenylene, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing, and the Z is 4,4′-diphenylene isopropylidene.

6 . The thermoplastic composition of claim 3 , wherein at least 10 mole percent of the R groups comprise a sulfone group.

7 . The thermoplastic composition of claim 1 , wherein the polyetherimide-siloxane comprises units of the formula

wherein

each R′ is independently a C 1-13 monovalent hydrocarbyl group, each R 4 is a C 2 -C 20 hydrocarbyl group, E of the siloxane is 2 to 50, 5, to 30, or 10 to 40; and

each R and T of the imide are as in claim 3 .

8 . The thermoplastic composition of claim 7 , wherein

each R is independently meta-phenylene, para-phenylene, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing;

each Z is 4,4′-diphenylene isopropylidene;

each R 4 is a propylene group;

each R′ is a methyl group; and

E of the siloxane is 2 to 50.

9 . The thermoplastic composition of claim 1 , wherein the hard segment of the thermoplastic polyester elastomer comprises a poly(alkylene terephthalate), a poly(alkylene isophthalate), or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.

10 . The thermoplastic composition of claim 1 , wherein the soft segment of the thermoplastic polyester elastomer comprises a polyether comprising a polybutylene ether, a polypropylene ether, a polyethylene ether, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.

11 . The thermoplastic composition of claim 1 , wherein the soft segment of the thermoplastic polyester elastomer comprises an amorphous polyester comprising repeat units derived from a C 4-24 aliphatic carbonate, a C 4-24 aliphatic diol and a C 4-24 aliphatic dicarboxylic acid, a lactone , or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.

12 . The thermoplastic composition of claim 1 , wherein the polyester comprises poly(butylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene terephthalate), or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.

13 . The thermoplastic composition of claim 1 , wherein the one or more flame retardants comprise an organophosphate ester, aluminum phosphinate, melamine polyphosphate, melamine cyanurate, magnesium hydroxide, phosphazene, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.

14 . The thermoplastic composition of claim 13 , wherein the organophosphate ester comprises bisphenol-A bis(diphenylphosphate), resorcinol diphenyl phosphate, triphenyl phosphate , or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.

15 . The thermoplastic composition of claim 1 , wherein the one or more additives comprise a thermal stabilizer, a hydrolysis stabilizer, an ultraviolet light stabilizer, a nucleating agent, a metal deactivator, a colorant, an antioxidant, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.

16 . An article comprising the thermoplastic composition of claim 1 , wherein the article is an extruded part, an injection molded part, or a hot-compressed part.

17 . An electrical wire comprising a conductor wire and a covering disposed over the conductor wire, wherein the covering comprises the thermoplastic composition of claim 1 ; and wherein the thermoplastic composition coating the conductor wire has one or more of the following properties:

a tensile elongation at break of 10 to 300% as extruded, determined according the UL-1581;

a tensile stress at break of greater than 10 MPa as extruded, determined according to UL-1581;

a heat deformation of less than 50% at 175° C. for 1 hour with 300 gram load, determined according to UL-1581; and

a pass rating in the flame propagation test conducted according to ISO 6722.

18 . The electrical wire of claim 17 , wherein the conductor wire comprises copper, aluminum, lead, gold, silver, iron, nickel, chromium, or an alloy comprising at least one of the foregoing.

19 . The electrical wire of claim 17 , wherein the covering has a thickness of 0.1 to 1 millimeter, and wherein the covering comprising the thermoplastic composition does not exhibit cracking under bending after aging at 175° C. for 240 hours.

20 . An article comprising the electrical wire of claim 17 , wherein the article is a railway vehicle component, an automobile component, a bus component, a marine vehicle component, or an aircraft component.