PROCESS TO MAKE A DIBLOCK COPOLYMER HAVING A MONOVINYLAROMATIC POLYMER BLOCK

    公开(公告)号:US20110224373A1

    公开(公告)日:2011-09-15

    申请号:US13055011

    申请日:2009-07-28

    IPC分类号: C08L53/00 C08F293/00

    摘要: The present invention is a process to make a composition comprising a block copolymer A-B and optionally a monovinylaromatic polymer, said process comprising: a) forming a mixture comprising: one or more cyclic component polymerizable by ring-opening polymerization (ROP) dispersed in at least one monovinylaromatic monomer, optionally a rubber dissolved in the monovinylaromatic monomer, b) contacting the mixture of step a) with a mixture of b1 and b2 such that: b1) is M[N(SiR83)2]x in which M is a metal, R8 is an hydrocarbon group and x is the valency of the metal M, or a metal alkoxide M(OR9)x in which M is a metal, R9 is an hydrocarbon group and x is the valency of the metal M, or phenol-based pro-ligands of formula wherein R1 is wherein m is 1, 2 or 3 and n≧1); R2 is hydrocarbyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms and is preferably selected from methyl, ethyl, iso-propyl, tert-butyl or neo-pentyl; R3 is the same as R1 or is hydrocarbyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms and is preferably alkyl selected from methyl, ethyl, iso-propyl, tert-butyl, neo-pentyl, cumyl, trityl or aryl selected from phenyl, 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl, 2,6-diisopropylphenyl, or a mixture thereof, or triazabicyclodecene (TBD), or a single-site metal catalyst component based upon a bulky β-diiminate ligands (BDI), represented by the following general formula: wherein R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6 and R7 are each independently selected from hydrogen, unsubstituted or substituted hydrocarbyl, or inert functional group and wherein two or more of said groups can be linked together to form one or more rings, wherein X is an hydrocarbyl radical having from 1 to 12 carbon atoms, an alkoxide group OR*, an amido group NR**2 or a borohydride group (BH4) wherein M is a metal, b2) a functional alcohol containing, besides its —OH function, another functionality Y enabling the growth or the grafting of a polyvinylaromatic, at conditions effective to produce by ROP of the cyclic component a block polymer A, having an —OH end and another function Y, dispersed in the monovinylaromatic monomer, wherein the molar ratio OH/b1 of the alcohol function in b2 to b1 ranges from 2 to 50, c) polymerizing the solution obtained at step b) optionally in the presence of a free radical initiator, optionally in the presence of chain transfer agents, at conditions effective to produce: a monovinylaromatic block polymer B linked to the block polymer A by the aforementioned functionality Y such that H-A-O—R—Y—B or H-A-O—R—B—Y (referred in both cases as A-B to simplify) in which R is a linking group, optionally a monovinylaromatic polymer, d) optionally degassing the product of step c) to separate the optional unpolymerized monomers and comonomers and recovering optionally a composition comprising at least the block copolymer A-B, optionally a monovinylaromatic polymer and optionally a rubber. In another embodiment b1 doesn't comprise the metal alkoxide M(OR9)x and there is no ratio OH/b1.