Alkali-soluble polymers and process for producing same
First Claim
1. A process for producing an alkali-soluble graft polymer having at least one main chain and a plurality of side chains attached thereto, the process comprising the steps of:
- combining, in a solvent contained within an agitated reaction zone, (1) at least one vinylic monomer that is capable of forming free radicals, (2) at least one ethylenically-unsaturated carboxylic acid monomer that is capable of addition-copolymerizing with the vinylic monomer in the presence of the thus-formed free radicals, and (3) cyclic ester molecules that are capable of ring-opening in the presence of the carboxylic acid monomer, thereby producing a reactant-initiatable polymerizable mixture; and
subjecting the reactant-initiatable polymerizable mixture to a preselected temperature and pressure effective to cause the vinylic monomer and the ethylenically-unsaturated carboxylic acid monomer to free-radically addition-copolymerize to form the graft polymer one main chain and to cause the cyclic ester molecules to ring-open at the inner ester bonds thereof and to graft onto the polymer main chain, thereby forming the side chains of the graft polymer,the process being characterized in that the main-chain and side-chain formations of the graft polymer occur substantially simultaneously, the process further being characterized in that the graft polymer is formed expressly excluding utilization of a polymerization catalyst for the cyclic ester molecule.
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Abstract
A process for producing an alkali-soluble graft polymer is disclosed. The graft polymer has at least one main chain and a plurality of side chains attached thereto. The process comprises combining at least one vinylic monomer that is capable of forming free radicals, at least one ethylenically-unsaturated carboxylic acid monomer that is capable of addition-copolymerization with the vinylic monomer in the presence of the thus-formed free radicals, and cyclic ester molecules that are capable of ring-opening in the presence of the carboxylic acid monomer, to produce a polymerizable mixture. the polymerizable mixture to subjected to a preselected temperature and pressure for causing the monomers to free-radically addition-copolymerize to form the main chain while the cyclic ester molecules graft thereon, thereby forming the side chains of the graft polymer. The process is characterized in that the main-chain and side-chain formations of the graft polymer occur substantially simultaneously.
27 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A process for producing an alkali-soluble graft polymer having at least one main chain and a plurality of side chains attached thereto, the process comprising the steps of:
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combining, in a solvent contained within an agitated reaction zone, (1) at least one vinylic monomer that is capable of forming free radicals, (2) at least one ethylenically-unsaturated carboxylic acid monomer that is capable of addition-copolymerizing with the vinylic monomer in the presence of the thus-formed free radicals, and (3) cyclic ester molecules that are capable of ring-opening in the presence of the carboxylic acid monomer, thereby producing a reactant-initiatable polymerizable mixture; and subjecting the reactant-initiatable polymerizable mixture to a preselected temperature and pressure effective to cause the vinylic monomer and the ethylenically-unsaturated carboxylic acid monomer to free-radically addition-copolymerize to form the graft polymer one main chain and to cause the cyclic ester molecules to ring-open at the inner ester bonds thereof and to graft onto the polymer main chain, thereby forming the side chains of the graft polymer, the process being characterized in that the main-chain and side-chain formations of the graft polymer occur substantially simultaneously, the process further being characterized in that the graft polymer is formed expressly excluding utilization of a polymerization catalyst for the cyclic ester molecule. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An alkali-soluble graft polymer that is formed expressly excluding utilization of a polymerization catalyst, the graft polymer having a number-average molecular weight of about 500 to about 30,000 and which is structurally represented as:
- ##STR7## where R is an end-cap which is based upon an unstable Diels-Alder adduct that is selected from the group consisting of vinyl toluene, alpha-methyl styrene, tertiary-butyl styrene, ortho-chlorostyrene, styrene, and mixtures thereof;
where R1 and R2 are --H, --CH3 or --COOH; where R3 is --H, --CH3, --COOH, --CH2 COOH, ##STR8## where R4 and R5 are --H or --CH3 ;
where i and j are each about 1 to about 500;where K is 0 to 50; and where m is 2 to 11. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
- ##STR7## where R is an end-cap which is based upon an unstable Diels-Alder adduct that is selected from the group consisting of vinyl toluene, alpha-methyl styrene, tertiary-butyl styrene, ortho-chlorostyrene, styrene, and mixtures thereof;
Specification