Patent ID: 6716915
Filing Date: 2004-04-06
Classification: B32B,C08F,C08L,C09D,C09J,Y10T

Abstract:
A method comprising the steps of:(a) forming a thermosetting blend comprising a thermosetting polymer and a comb copolymer; (b) shaping said thermosetting blend; and (c) curing said thermosetting blend to form an article; wherein said comb copolymer comprises a backbone and at least one graft segment; wherein said forming comprises mixing and, optionally, heating; wherein said article has a fracture toughness at least 15 percent greater than that of a second article formed identically, absent the comb copolymer; and wherein said comb copolymer is produced by a polymerization method comprising the steps of: (a) forming a macromonomer aqueous emulsion comprising a plurality of water-insoluble particles of macromonomer, wherein said macromonomer is a macromonomer produced by aqueous emulsion polymerization and comprises polymerized units of at least one first ethylenically unsaturated monomer, and macromonomer further having: (i) a degree of polymerization of from 10 to 1000; and (ii) at least one terminal ethylenically unsaturated group; (b) forming a monomer composition comprising at least one second ethylenically unsaturated monomer; and (c) combing at least a portion of said macromonomer aqueous emulsion and at least a portion of said monomer composition to form a polymerization reaction mixture; and (d) polymerizing said macromonomer with said second ethylenically unsaturated monomer in the presence of an initiator to produce said plurality of comb copolymer particles.