摘要:
Solid polymers of vinylidene fluoride containing residual amounts of a surfactant RfSO3M, where Rf is a saturated C4- 12 aliphatic or cycloaliphatic radical and M is a cation, are stabilized against high temperature degradation by treatment in an aqueous medium with one or more water-soluble compounds of barium or strontium so as to incorporate at least 0.006% wt. of the compound(s) in the polymer. Specified compounds are barium and strontium acetates, chlorides, hydroxides and nitrates and barium bromide, formate and pyrophosphate. The polymers to which the invention is applicable are characterized by their "plasticity number" which is defined in the Specification and is inversely related to the molecular weight. Treatment may be effected by washing the polymer or a coagulate thereof from a latex with a solution of the compound or by adding the compound to an aqueous latex of the polymer. In comparative examples and descriptions the effectiveness of the specified compounds is contrasted with that of the corresponding calcium sodium, ammonium, zinc and cadmium compounds and the following conventional stabilizers for other halo-olefine polymers; urea and alkyl ureas, a commercial organo-tin stabilizer, lead acetate, metal oxides, metal salts of long-chain organic acids and dialkyldithio-carbamic acids, and amine and phenol anti-oxidants. U.S.A. Specifications 2,435,517 and 2,519,983 are referred to.