MELT-PROCESSABLE FLUORINE-CONTAINING RESIN COMPOSITION

Abstract: 1. A melt-processable fluorine-containing resin composition comprising: (A) a fluorovinyl ether-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer and (B) a thermal stabilizer in an amount of not less than 0.01 to less than 500 ppm of said copolymer (A). When using the composition of the present invention, the bubbles formation is not caused upon sintering and the obtained product is not colored.

Description: The present invention relates to a melt-processable fluorine-containing resin composition which comprises (A) a fluorovinyl ether-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer (PFA) and (B) a thermal stabilizer in an amount of 0,05 to 400 ppm of said copolymer (A), said thermal stabilizer (B) being at least one member selected from the group of thermal stabilizers (a) to (g) as defined below. Melt-processable fluorine-containing resins including PFA have melt-flowability, that is, the melt viscosity of the resins is generally lower than 10⁵ Pa·s ( < 10⁶ poises) at an optimum processing temperature and, therefore, they provide a film having less pinholes and voids as compared with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) which is a typical and the most widely used fluorine-containing resin since it has an extremely high melt viscosity from 10⁹ to 10¹⁰ Pa·s (10¹⁰ to 10¹¹ poises) even at a processing temperature, i.e. at about 380°C and therefore, it has no melt-flowability. Accordingly, melt-processable fluorine-containing resins are useful for use in coating or lining in the state of a powder or a dispersion, and the obtained film is excellent in chemical resistance and corrosion resistance. However, the thermal stability of the melt-processable fluorine-containing resins at high temperatures in the vicinity of their sintering temperatures is inferior to that of PTFE, and this often causes trouble in processing. That is, when the resins are heated at a suitable sintering temperature of 340°C to 380°C for more than 30 minutes, the resins partially cause thermal decomposition, and particularly when the coated film is thick, bubbles are formed in the film inevitably. This phenomenon is accelerated by the influence of oxygen in air. For this reson, there have hitherto been proposed (1) a process in which the thickness of a coating per one application is made as small as possible (about 50 µm) and the coating procedures are repeated, (2) a process in which a resin having a low molecular weight is used and the coating is sintered at a considerably low temperature (320° to 340°C), (3) a process in which a thermal stabilizer is admixed with a melt-processable fluorine-containing resin in a large amount (for instance, US-A-4,276,214 and 4,248,763), and (4) a process in which at least one-thermal stabilizer selected from the group consisting of an amine antioxidant, an organosulfurous compound, an organo tin antioxidant, a tin powder and a zinc powder is added in an amount of 0,05 to 10 parts by weight to perfluorovinyl ether-tetrafluoroethylene copolymers as described in EP-A-0 06 493. However, the above process (1) has the disadvantages that the application and sintering procedures must be repeated more than 20 times until a sintered film reaches a desired thickness (generally, not less than 1 000 µm) and the processing conditions are narrow. Also, the process (2) results in the formation of bubbles when the thickness of the film per one application exceeds 100 µm, and therefore, it is low in productivity as the process (1). Further, the obtained film is inferior in properties such as stress crack resistance and solvent crack resistance because of using a low molecular weight resin. On the other hand, though the processes (3) and (4) have the effects that the formation of bubbles is inhibited and the processing conditions become wide by blending a thermal stabilizer, for obtaining the above effects, it is required to admix the thermal stabilizer with a melt-processable fluorine-containing resin in an amount of not less than 0,05 part by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the resin (not less than 500 ppm). When, however, using the thermal stabilizer in such a large amount, the obtained product is colored by the remaining thermal stabilizer, thus resulting in the lowering of good value of the product. Therefore, the object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a melt-processable fluorine-containing resin composition having excellent thermal stability, that is, no formation of bubbles is caused upon sintering and the processing conditions can be made wide, and capable of giving products which are not colored. It has now been found that PFA selected from among melt-processable fluorine-containing resins can sufficiently prevent the formation of bubbles by admixing a specific thermal stabilizer as stated below even in a small amount, and furthermore, the obtained products are not colored. In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a melt-processable fluorine-containing resin composition comprising (A) a fluorovinyl ether-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer and (B) a thermal stabilizer in an amount of 0,05 to 400 ppm, preferably 0,5 to 200 ppm of said copolymer (A), said thermal stabilizer (B) being at least one member selected from the group consisting of (a) at least one member selected from the group consisting of an amine antioxidant, an organosulfurous compound and an organotin antioxidant; (b) at least one member selected from the group consisting of tin powder and zinc powder; (c) a mixture of a metal powder of group VIII of the periodic Table, an amine antioxidant and an organosulfurous compound; (d) a mixture of an organosulfurous compound and a powder of tin or zinc; (e) a mixture of one or more kinds of phenolic antioxidants and at least one member selected from the group consisting of an organosulfurous compound and an organotin antioxidant; (f) a mixture of carbon black powder, an organosulfurous compound and an amine antioxidant, or in addition at least one member selected from fine powders of zinc, tin, cobalt, nickel and iron; and (g) a mixture of one or more kinds of metallic soaps and at least one member selected from the group consisting of an amine antioxidant and an organosulfurous compound. PFA used in the present invention is a copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and a fluorovinyl ether. It is preferable that a weight ratio of tetrafluoroethylene to fluorovinyl ether in PFA is from 98/2 to 90/10. The fluorovinyl ether used in the invention preferably includes a fluorovinyl ether having the formula (1): XCF₂(CF₂) n OCF = CF₂ (1) wherein X is hydrogen or fluorine and n is 0 or an integer of 1 to 7, and a fluorovinyl polyether having the formula (2): wherein X and n are the same defined as above and m is an integer of 1 to 7. PFA may be modified with other copolymerizable monomers in a small amount and the modified PFA can also be used in the present invention. Examples of those copolymerizable monomers are, for instance, propylene, isobutylene, vinyl fluoride, vinylidene fluoride, trifluoroethylene, hexafluoropropylene, and hexafluoroisobutene. In the present invention, it is preferable to use the above-mentioned PFA having a particle size within the range of <0,044 mm (20 mesh pass), especially <0,50 mm (32 mesh pass). As the thermal stabilizer used in the present invention, there is employed at least one member selected from the group consisting of (a) at least one member selected from the group consisting of an amine antioxidant, an organosulfurous compound and an organotin antioxidant; (b) at least one member selected from tin powder and zinc powder; (c) a mixture of a metal powder of group VIII of the Periodic Table, an amine antioxidant and an organosulfurous compound; (d) a mixture of an organosulfurous compound and a powder of tin or zinc; (e) a mixture of one or more kinds of phenolic antioxidants and at least one member selected from the group consisting of an organosulfurous compound and an organotin antioxidant; (f) a mixture of a carbon black powder, an organosulfurous compound and an amine antioxidant, or in addition at least one member selected from fine powders of zinc, tin, cobalt, nickel and iron; and (g) a mixture of one or more kinds of metallic soaps and at least one member selected from the group consisting of an amine antioxidant and an organosulfurous compound. Some of these thermal stabilizers are described in US-A-4,276,214 and 4,248,763. The amount of the thermal stabilizer is within the range of from 0.05 to 400 ppm of PFA, preferably from 0.5 to 200 ppm of PFA. When the amount of the thermal stabilizer is less than 0.01 ppm, the effect for improving thermal stability is poor. Any known other additives may suitably be added to the fluorine-containing resin composition of the present invention as occasion demands, e.g. pigments such as carbon powder, titanium dioxide and cobalt oxide, reinforcing agents such as glass or carbon fiber powder and mica, leveling agents, and antistatic agents, In the present invention, PFA is blended with the thermal stabilizer and the additives in any of dry methods wherein they are blended in the form of powder and wet methods wherein they are blended in the form of slurry, and the blending method is suitably selected according to the desired form of the composition for use. When it is desired to obtain the composition suited for use in powder coating, it is, of course, preferable to conduct the blending in the form of powder, and in which usual blenders and pulverizers such as sample mill, V-shaped blender, cone-shaped blender and Ribbon blender may be employed without particular limitation. It is necessary to conduct the blending of the thermal stabilizer with PFA at a temperature of less than about 200°C so that the stabilizer is not influenced by heat, and for the same reason it is also necessary to take care so that the composition is not subject to the influence of heat at a temperature higher than about 200°C prior to using it for coating. When the blending is carried out by a wet process, the PFA having the above-mentioned particle size ranges is blended with the thermal stabilizer in an organic solvent such as, toluene, xylene, perchloroethylene, chloroform, trichloroethylene or an alcohol, in water or in a mixture of the organic solvent and water. In case of using water as a medium, in order to uniformly disperse the thermal stabilizer it is preferred to add a surface active agent such as sodium alkylbenzenesulfonate, sodium alkylsulfate, polyethyleneglycol alkylphenyl ether, polyethyleneglycol alkyl ether or ammonium perchlorofluorocaprylate. The wet blending is conducted by employing any apparatuses for agitation or blending such as ball mill, vibrating ball mill, sand mill and roll mill without particular limitation. The present invention is more specifically described and explained by means of the following Examples, in which all percentages and parts are by weight unless otherwise noted. Examples 1 to 22 and Comparative Examples 1 to 5 A 50 liter kneader having four agitating blades (commercially available under the tradename "Speed Kneader" made by Showa Engineering Kabushiki Kaisha) was charged with 10 Kg of PFA powder (tetrafluoroethylene/ perfluoropropyl vinyl ether = 96.4/3.6 by weight) having an average particle size of 170 µm and a prescribed amount of a thermal stabilizer shown in Table 1, and the agitating blades were rotated for 30 minutes at a speed of 1,500 r.p.m. to give a fluorine-containing resin composition in the form of powder. A rectangular frame having a size of 10 cm x 5 cm was placed on an iron plate, and the composition in the form of powder was placed in the frame in an amount calculated on the basis of the specific gravity of the obtained film after sintering so that the film had a thickness of 2000 µm. After removing the flame gently, the composition on the iron plate was sintered in an electric oven at a temperature shown in Table 1 for 1 hour to give a film. The appearance of the obtained film was observed with the naked eye and the coloration of the film and the state of bubble formation in the film were examined. The marks in the column of State of bubble formation in Table 1 have the following meanings, respectively. o ○: No bubble being observed. O: Only several bubbles being observed. X: Many bubbles being observed. When the melt-processable fluorine-containing resin composition of the present invention is used, no bubble formation is caused on sintering, and the obtained product is not colored. In addition to the ingredients used in the Examples, other ingredients can be used in the Examples as set forth in the specification to obtain substantially the same results.

Claims: A melt-processable fluorine-containing resin composition comprising: (A) a fluorovinyl ether-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer and (B) a thermal stabilizer in an amount of 0.05 to 400 ppm of said copolymer (A), said thermal stabilizer (B) being at least one member selected from the group consisting of (a) at least one member selected from the group consisting of an amine antioxidant, an organosulfurous compound and am organotin antioxidant; (b) at least one member selected from the group consisting of tin powder and zinc powder; (c) a mixture of a metal powder of Group VIII of the Periodic Table, an amine antioxidant and an organosulfurous compound; (d) a mixture of an organosulfurous compound and a powder of tin or zinc; (e) a mixture of one or more kinds of phenolic antioxidants and at least one member selected from the group consisting of an organosulfurous compound and an organotin antioxidant; (f) a mixture of carbon black powder, an organosulfurous compound and an amine antioxidant alone, or said mixture also containing at least one member selected from fine powders of zinc, tin, cobalt, nickel and iron; and (g) a mixture of one or more kinds of metallic soaps and at least one member selected from the group consisting of an amine antioxidant and an organosulfurous compound. The composition of Claim 1, wherein an amount of said thermal stabilizer (B) is from 0.5 to 200 ppm of said copolymer (A). The composition of Claim 1, wherein said copolymer (A) is a copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and a fluorovinyl ether having the formula (1): XCF₂(CF₂) n OCF = CF₂ (1) wherein X is fluorine or hydrogen and n is 0 or an integer of 1 to 7. The composition of Claim 1, wherein said copolymer (A) is a copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and a fluorovinyl polyether having the formula (2): wherein X is fluorine or hydrogen, n is 0 or an integer of 1 to 7 and m is an integer of 1 to 7.

Inventors: SHIMASAKI, SHUHEI, TOMIHASHI, NOBUYUKI, YOSHIMURA TATSUSHIRO
Applicants: DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LIMITED
Application year: 1987
Main classification: C08L27
IPC codes: C08F214, C08K3, C08K5, C08F16, C08L29, C08K13, C08F216, C08L27