DETAILED DESCRIPTION The hydrolyzable resins useful in subject process derive their hydrolyzability from silane modification.
They are commercially attractive because they can be simply and effectively cured with water.
These copolymers are, therefore, susceptible to a broad range of processing conditions and are particularly useful in the preparation of extruded wire coatings, foams, pipe, and pond liners.
The curing or crosslinking of these silane modified copolymers is effected by exposing the copolymers to moisture.
Without a silane condensation catalyst, however, moisture cure is exceedingly slow and, in the short time it takes to pass the resin through, e.
g.
, an extruder, the amount of crosslinking achieved is negligible.
It is understood that the term "copolymer" as used in this specification may include silane grafted olefin homopolymers and copolymers, and copolymers of one or more olefin monomers and an olefin silane monomer.
The monomers on which the homopolymers and copolymers are based can be alpha-olefins or diolefins having 2 to 20 carbon atoms, particularly the lower alpha-olefins having 2 to 12 carbon atoms.
Preferably, a major proportion, i.
e.
, more than 50 percent by weight, of each copolymer is attributed to ethylene, propylene, or 1-butene.
The silane monomer, which is either grafted or copolymerized, is unsaturated and has at least one hydrolyzable group.
Various useful alkenyl alkoxy silanes are mentioned below.
In addition to the alpha-olefin, diolefin, and silane monomers, the balance of the copolymer can be based on one or more various olefin monomers having 2 to 20 carbon atoms.
Examples of useful monomers are the vinyl esters, alkyl methacrylates, and alkyl acrylates.
Examples of these compounds are 1 hexene, 4-methyl-1 pentene, 1-undecene, ethyl acrylate, vinyl acetate, methyl methacrylate, 1,4 hexadiene, ethylidenenorbornene, dicyclopentadiene, butyl acrylate, and methyl acrylate.
Silane modified terpolymers such as ethylene/propylene/ethylidene norbornene rubbers are of particular interest
|
Adhesives and Rubbers 
