Polycarbonate copolymers, articles formed therefrom, and methods of manufacture
A polycarbonate copolymer contains aromatic carbonate units; optionally siloxane units; and resorcinol arylate ester units. The resorcinol arylate ester units of the polycarbonate copolymer are derived from a resorcinol composition having a hydroquinone content of 50 to 1200 parts per million, a catechol content of 5 to 29 parts per million, and a phenol content of 0 to 2400, each as determined by high performance liquid chromatography, and further comprising an acid stabilizer.
1. A polycarbonate copolymer comprising:
aromatic carbonate units;
optionally siloxane units; and
resorcinol arylate ester units derived from a resorcinol composition having
a hydroquinone content of 50 to 1200 parts per million,
a catechol content of 5 to 29 parts per million, and
a phenol content of 0 to 2400, each as determined by high performance liquid chromatography, and
an acid stabilizer.
2. The polycarbonate copolymer of claim 1 , having
a molar ratio of carbonate carbonyl groups relative to ester carbonyl groups of 0.13:1 to 0.20:1 as determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; and
a percent ester carbonyl content of 91 to 84 mol % as determined by 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy using the equation:
Percent
ester
carbonyl
content
=
[
Ester
carbonyl
content
of
arylate
-
resorcinol
-
arylate
sequences
+
(
0.5
*
Ester
carbonyl
content
of
arylate
-
resorcinol
-
carbonate
sequences
)
]
[
Ester
carbonyl
content
of
arylate
-
resorcinol
-
arylate
sequences
+
Ester
carbonyl
content
of
arylate
-
resorcinol
-
carbonate
sequences
+
Carbonate
carbonyl
content
of
carbonate
-
resorcinol
-
carbonate
sequences
]
*
(
100
)
.
3. The polycarbonate copolymer of claim 1 , wherein an unmolded powder sample of the polycarbonate copolymer has a glass transition temperature of 139° C. or higher determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) as per ASTM D3418 with a 10° C/min heating rate.
4. The polycarbonate copolymer of claim 1 , wherein a molded sample of the polycarbonate copolymer powder has a yellowness index of less than 8.5 as measured by ASTM D1925 on a 3.2 mm thick plaque.
5. The polycarbonate copolymer of claim 1 , wherein a powder sample of the polycarbonate copolymer has a fluorescent emission intensity at 450 nm of less than 1.2 lumens*sec after excitation at 375 nm as determined by high performance liquid chromatography.
6. The polycarbonate copolymer of claim 1 , wherein the polycarbonate copolymer is a poly(carbonate-siloxane-arylate), and the resorcinol composition has
a hydroquinone content of 50 to 500 parts per million, or 60 to 200 parts per million, or 100 to 150 parts per million,
a catechol content of 10 to 30 parts per million, or 10 to 25 parts per million, or 15 to 25 parts per million, and
a phenol content of 50 to 2400 parts per million, or 800 to 2400 parts per million, or 1000 to 2000 parts per million,
each as determined by high performance liquid chromatography.
7. The polycarbonate copolymer of claim 6 , having a molar ratio of carbonate carbonyl groups relative to ester carbonyl groups of 0.13:1 to 0.16:1 or 0.13:1 to 0.15: 1 as determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; and
a percent ester carbonyl content of 91 to 88 mol % or 91 to 89 mol % as determined by 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy using the equation:
Percent
ester
carbonyl
content
=
[
Ester
carbonyl
content
of
arylate
-
resorcinol
-
arylate
sequences
+
(
0.5
*
Ester
carbonyl
content
of
arylate
-
resorcinol
-
carbonate
sequences
)
]
[
Ester
carbonyl
content
of
arylate
-
resorcinol
-
arylate
sequences
+
Ester
carbonyl
content
of
arylate
-
resorcinol
-
carbonate
sequences
+
Carbonate
carbonyl
content
of
carbonate
-
resorcinol
-
carbonate
sequences
]
*
(
100
)
.
8. The polycarbonate copolymer of claim 1 , wherein the polycarbonate copolymer is a poly(carbonate-siloxane-arylate), and wherein the resorcinol composition has
a hydroquinone content of 400 to 1200 parts per million,
a catechol content of 4 to 11 parts per million, and
a phenol content of 0 parts per million,
each as determined by high performance liquid chromatography.
9. The polycarbonate copolymer of claim 8 , wherein the poly(carbonate-siloxane-arylate) has
a molar ratio of carbonate carbonyl groups relative to ester carbonyl groups of 0.16:1 to 0.20:1 as determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; and
a percent ester carbonyl content of 88 to 84 mol % as determined by 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy using the equation:
Percent
ester
carbonyl
content
=
[
Ester
carbonyl
content
of
arylate
-
resorcinol
-
arylate
sequences
+
(
0.5
*
Ester
carbonyl
content
of
arylate
-
resorcinol
-
carbonate
sequences
)
]
[
Ester
carbonyl
content
of
arylate
-
resorcinol
-
arylate
sequences
+
Ester
carbonyl
content
of
arylate
-
resorcinol
-
carbonate
sequences
+
Carbonate
carbonyl
content
of
carbonate
-
resorcinol
-
carbonate
sequences
]
*
(
100
)
.
10. The polycarbonate copolymer of claim 1 , wherein the stabilizer is a mineral acid or an organic acid, wherein the organic acid stabilizer is a C 1-12 carboxylic acid, or a C 2-12 carboxylic acid, or a C -12 carboxylic acid, or a carboxylic acid derivative of any of the foregoing.
11. The polycarbonate copolymer of claim 10 , wherein the organic acid stabilizer is a hydroxy-substituted carboxylic acid, a lactone, a hydroxy-substituted lactone, a polycarboxylic acid, a hydroxy-substituted polycarboxylic acid, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.
12. The polycarbonate copolymer of claim 11 , wherein the stabilizer is oxalic acid, malic acid, citric acid, ascorbic acid, 2,3,4,5,6-pentahydroxyhexanoic acid, 2,3,4,5-tetrahydroxypentaanoic acid, gluconic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, HC1, phosphoric acid, phosphorous acid, lactic acid, formic acid, tartaric acid, tartronic acid, the corresponding lactone or C 1-6 alkyl ester of any of the foregoing, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.
13. The polycarbonate copolymer of claim 11 , wherein the stabilizer is gluconic acid.
14. The polycarbonate copolymer of claim 8 , wherein the stabilizer comprises gluconic acid, and a molded sample of the polycarbonate copolymer powder has a yellowness index of less than 13 as measured by ASTM D1925 on a 3.2 mm thick plaque.
15. The polycarbonate copolymer of claim 1 comprising, based on the total weight of the polycarbonate copolymer,
1 to 10.3 weight percent bisphenol A carbonate units;
2.5 to 13 weight percent of resorcinol carbonate units;
0.25 to 2.5 weight percent of siloxane units of the formulas
or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing, wherein E has an average value of 5 to 15; the siloxane content being 0.6 to 1.5 wt. %, based on the total weight of the polycarbonate copolymer; and
75 to 91 weight percent of resorcinol isophthalate/terephthalate ester units derived from a resorcinol composition having
a hydroquinone content of 60 to 200 parts per million,
a catechol content of 10 to 30 parts per million, and
a phenol content of 800 to 2400, each as determined by high performance liquid chromatography, and
a C 4-12 hydroxy-substituted carboxylic acid stabilizer.
16. A thermoplastic composition comprising the polycarbonate copolymer of claim 1 .
17. An article comprising the thermoplastic composition of claim 16 , wherein the article is a molded article, a fiber, a thermoformed article, an extruded film, an extruded sheet, one or more layers of a multi-layer article, a substrate for a coated article, or a substrate for a metallized article.
18. The article of claim 17 , wherein the article is a housing for a computer, business machine, or handheld electronic device, an electrical connectors, a component of lighting fixtures, ornaments, home appliances, roofs, greenhouses, sun rooms, swimming pool enclosures, a weatherable opaque part, a tractor hood, a tractor side panel, an automotive grill or other automotive part, or a transportation component.
19. An article comprising the thermoplastic composition of claim 16 , wherein the article is a transportation component, preferably ceiling paneling, flaps, boxes, hoods, louvers, insulation material in an interior body shells in interiors, side walls, front walls, end walls, partitions, room dividers, interior doors, interior lining of doors, luggage overhead luggage racks, vertical luggage racks, luggage containers, luggage compartments, windows, window frames, kitchen interior component, access panels, access doors, air flow regulators, baggage storage doors, display panels, display units, door handles, door pulls, enclosures for electronic devices, food carts, food trays, grilles, handles, magazine racks, seat components, refrigerator doors, seat backs, side walls, tray tables, or trim panels.
20. A method of manufacturing the polycarbonate copolymer of claim 1 , the method comprising
reacting a combination comprising a dicarboxylic acid dihalide, optionally a dihydroxy siloxane, and a resorcinol composition having
a hydroquinone content of 5 to 1200 parts per million,
a catechol content of 5 to 29 parts per million,
a phenol content of 0 to 2400, each as determined by high performance liquid chromatography, and further comprising an organic stabilizer having at least a first pKa from 2.5 to 4.5, to provide an arylate-resorcinol-arylate polymer; and
reacting the arylate-resorcinol-arylate polymer with a bisphenol and a carbonate precursor preferably at a pH of less than 11 to provide the polycarbonate copolymer.
21. A polycarbonate copolymer formed by the method of claim 20 , wherein the polycarbonate copolymer is a poly(carbonate-siloxane-arylate) having a molar ratio of carbonate carbonyl groups relative to ester carbonyl groups of 0.13:1 to 0.20:1 as determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; and
a percent ester carbonyl content of 91 to 84 mol% as determined by 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy using the equation:
Percent
ester
carbonyl
content
=
[
Ester
carbonyl
content
of
arylate
-
resorcinol
-
arylate
sequences
+
(
0.5
*
Ester
carbonyl
content
of
arylate
-
resorcinol
-
carbonate
sequences
)
]
[
Ester
carbonyl
content
of
arylate
-
resorcinol
-
arylate
sequences
+
Ester
carbonyl
content
of
arylate
-
resorcinol
-
carbonate
sequences
+
Carbonate
carbonyl
content
of
carbonate
-
resorcinol
-
carbonate
sequences
]
*
(
100
)
.