Claims
- 1. An anionically-polymerized addition polymer of at least one ester of methacrylic acid, the polymer comprising mers having condensation-crosslinkable functionality, wherein the average chain length of the polymer, n, is about 6 to about 50 mers.
- 2. The polymer of claim 1 wherein the anionically-polymerized polymer is an alkoxide-polymerized polymer.
- 3. The polymer of claim 2 wherein at least about 85% by weight of the molecules of the polymer have chain lengths of about .sqroot.2n to about 2n mers.
- 4. The polymer of claim 3 wherein the average chain length is about 6 to about 25 mers.
- 5. The polymer of claim 3 wherein the polymer is a copolymer of at least one (C.sub.1 -C.sub.24)alkyl methacrylate and at least one copolymerizable ethylenically-unsaturated ester of methacrylic acid having condensation-crosslinkable functionality.
- 6. The polymer of claim 5 wherein the copolymerizable ester is 2-oxazolidinylethyl methacrylate, 2-(2-isopropyloxazolidinyl)ethyl methacrylate, or t-butylaminoethyl methacrylate.
- 7. The polymer of claim 6 wherein the alkyl methacrylate is a (C.sub.1 -C.sub.4)alkyl methacrylate.
- 8. The polymer of claim 7 wherein the alkyl methacrylate is methyl methacrylate.
- 9. The polymer of claim 3 wherein the polymer comprises mers having the structure ##STR10## wherein Y is a halogen atom, an amino group, a (C.sub.1 -C.sub.4)- alkylamino group, a di(C.sub.1 -C.sub.4)alkylamino group, a hydroxy(C.sub.1 -C.sub.4)alkylamino group, a bis-hydroxy(C.sub.1 -C.sub.4)alkylamino group, or a group of the formula --OR, wherein R is a hydrogen atom, a (C.sub.2 -C.sub.8)aminoalkyl group, an alkylaminoalkyl group having up to 6 carbon atoms, a (C.sub.2 -C.sub.8)isocyanatoalkyl group, a (C.sub.2 -C.sub.8)hydroxyalkyl group, a 1,3-oxazolidin-3-yl-C.sub. 2 -C.sub.4)alkyl group, optionally having up to two (C.sub.1 -C.sub.4)alkyl substituents on the oxazolidinyl ring, a (C.sub.1 -C.sub.4)-aldimino(C.sub.2 -C.sub.6)alkyl group, a (C.sub.1 -C.sub.4)aldimino(C.sub.2 -C.sub.6)alkoxyalkyl group, a (C.sub.3 -C.sub.8)ketimino(C.sub.2 -C.sub.6)alkyl group, a (C.sub.3 -C.sub.8)ketimino(C.sub.2 -C.sub.6)alkoxyalkyl group, a 1,3-dioxolan-4-yl(C.sub.2 -C.sub.4)alkyl group, optionally having up to two (C.sub.1 -C.sub.4)alkyl substituents on the dioxolanyl ring, an epoxy(C.sub.2 -C.sub.4)alkyl di(C.sub.1 -C.sub.4)alkyl ammonium(C.sub.2 -C.sub.4)alkyl group, a (C.sub.2 -C.sub.8)epoxy alkyl group, a 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl-dimethylammoniumethyl group, a 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl group, or a sodium, potassium, or ammonium cation.
- 10. The polymer of claim 9 wherein the polymer also comprises mers of the structure ##STR11## wherein R.sup.1 is a (C.sub.1 -C.sub.24)alkyl group.
- 11. The polymer of claim 10 wherein R is a (C.sub.2 -C.sub.8)hydroxyalkyl group.
- 12. The polymer of claim 10 wherein R is a 1,3-oxazolidinylethyl group or a 2-alkyl-1,3-oxazolidinylethyl group.
- 13. The polymer of claim 10 wherein R is a hydrogen atom.
- 14. The polymer of claim 13 wherein the polymer also comprises mers wherein R is a (C.sub.2 -C.sub.8)hydroxyalkyl group.
- 15. The polymer of claim 3 wherein the terminal group is an acid group.
- 16. The polymer of claim 3 wherein the initial group and the terminal group are acid groups.
- 17. The polymer of claim 16 wherein at least one additional group is an acid group.
- 18. In a process for preparing polymers of esters of methacrylic acid, the improvement which comprises carrying out the polymerization reaction in the presence of at least one chain-regulating alcohol and a catalytic amount of an alkoxide anion, while maintaining the molar concentration of the alcohol in the total monomer charge at a relatively constant value.
- 19. The process of claim 18 wherein the molar concentration of the alcohol is maintained at a relatively constant value of about 0.05 to about 5 molar % of the total monomer charge by adding the alcohol to the reaction at a rate consistent with the rate of polymerization.
- 20. The process of claim 18 wherein the molar concentration of the alcohol is maintained at a relatively constant value of about 2 to about 40 molar % of the total monomer charge by adding gradually to the reaction both the alcohol and the monomer at a molar ratio of about 1:50 to about 1:2.5
- 21. The process of claim 18 wherein the chain-regulating alcohol comprises an alcohol which contains at least one functional group in addition to a hydroxyl group.
- 22. The process of claim 21 wherein the chain-regulating alcohol comprises N-(2-hydroxyethyl)oxazolidine, t-butylaminoethanol, or dimethylaminoethanol.
- 23. In a process for preparing polymers of esters of methacrylic acid, the improvement which comprises carrying out the polymerization reaction in the presence of at least one chain-regulating alcohol and a catalytic amount of an alkoxide anion, polymerizing in a first stage about 20 to about 60% by weight of total monomer in the presence of the alcohol, and adding gradually the remainder of the total monomer after the first-stage polymerization has been completed.
- 24. The process of claim 23 wherein the molar ratio of the alcohol to the monomer in the first stage is about 1:5 to about 1:2.
- 25. The process of claim 23 wherein the chain-regulating alcohol comprises an alcohol which contains at least one functional group in addition to a hydroxy group.
- 26. The process of claim 25 wherein the chain-regulating alcohol comprises N-(2-hydroxyethyl)oxazolidine, t-butylaminoethanol, or dimethylaminoethanol.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of our pending application U.S. Ser. No. 371,921, filed on June 20, 1973 now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of our application U.S. Ser. No. 137,057, filed on Apr. 23, 1971 now abandoned.
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
stille, J. K. "Introduction to Polymer Chemistry" John Wiley & Sons, 48-61, 166-172. |
Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
371921 |
Jun 1973 |
|
Parent |
137057 |
Apr 1971 |
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