Ethylene-olefin rubbery copolymers and composition thereof for use as sponge rubber

Abstract: A rubbery terpolymer is made by copolymerisation of ethylene and an alpha-olefin (e.g. propylene) at a weight ratio of 73:27 to 40:60, and a diolefin (e.g. ethylidene norbornene) in a liquid organic reaction medium with a Ziegler catalyst; the amount of diolefin units is such as to give the terpolymer an iodine value of 10 to 38 and the copolymer has a Mooney viscosity (Ml₁+₄121 o C) of 135 to 200. In 100 parts by weight of the polymer is incorporated 30 - 130 parts of a plasticiser, e.g. process oil, and a foaming agent, and preferably vulcanising additives and a filler, and the composition is molded, foamed and crosslinked to make a shaped synthetic rubber sponge useful as a seal for vehicle bodies and which has good compress­ ion qualities and hysteresis loss.

Description: The present invention relates to sponge rubbers made from plasticised ethylene-olefin rubbery copolymer compositions. The sponge rubber have excellent performance and workability. The product of the present invention is useful for a variety of purposes, such as sealing materials for automobiles and sealing materials for civil engineering and building construction. Most sponge rubbers used for automobiles and buildings are composed of an ethylene-α-olefin copolymer rubber which has good heat resistance, weatherability, workability and cost of production. Such a rubber is extensively used, particularly in strips as for seals for doors, boat lids and windows of automobiles. However, as the result of improvements in the performances of automobiles, the performances required for the sponge rubbers have become higher, so that rubbers produced by the conventional techniques do not sufficiently satisfy all the required heightened performances. Specifically, the problems of invasion, into the passenger compartment of a car, of noise caused by the engine, or the rubbing of tyres or by air friction around doors, leaking of rain, and other problems at high speed driving are dependent greatly upon sealing around the doors and, therefore the requirements for sealing performance of sponge rubbers are becoming severer. Door sealing sponge, which when the door is closed is kept compressed for a long time as a sealing material between the door and car body, is desired to have a smaller settling under compression. The amount of settling by compression is generally expressed quantitatively in terms of "compression set". Sealing sponge should exhibit a low value of compression set. In addition to the settling, the vibration of doors at high speed driving needs to be considered. Since the vibration frequency of the door will increase with increase of driving speed of an automobile, it is desired for sealing sponge to be capable of sufficiently following the vibration of the door. If the sealing sponge cannot follow the vibration of the door, a gap is formed between the door and the car body, causing the penetrations of the above-mentioned various noises into said compartment Such follow-up ability can be defined generally by measuring hysteresis loss; it is desired for sponge rubber to exhibit low hysteresis loss. Furthermore, the doors should be able to be opened and closed smoothly over a wide temperature range from high temperature to low temperature, so that the rubber is required to have sufficient softness over such a wide temperature range. In addition to the above-mentioned requirements in use, sponge rubber is naturally required to have good appearance and working characteristics such as kneading processability, extrusion processability and shape-retaining ability. To meet such requirements of sponge rubber, there is, for example, known ethylene-α-olefin copolymer having an ethylene unit content of from 55 to 73 mole% and a Mooney viscosity (ML₁+₄121°C) of from 65 to 120 as disclosed in JP-B-58-57450, an examined Japanese patent publication. But this known sponge rubber is unsatisfactory in compression set, hysteresis loss and softness, even though it is satisfactory in green strength and shape-retention. An object of the present invention is to provide a shaped sponge rubber having superior characteristics in compression set, hysteresis loss, and softness, and exhibiting superior workability in comparison with rubbers produced by the conventional techniques. According to the present invention, there is provided a shaped sponge rubber made by foaming a composition comprising 100 parts by weight of a copolymer and from 30 to 130 parts by weight of a plasticizer, wherein said copolymer is a terpolymer of ethylene, an α-olefin and a diolefin, which contains ethylene units and α-olefin units at a weight ratio of from 73:27 to 40:60, has a Mooney viscosity (ML₁+₄121°C) of from 135 to 200, and where the amount of diolefin units is such as to give an iodine value of from 10 to 36 to the terpolymer and said diolefin is ethylidene norbornene. Suitable α-olefins used in the copolymer include propylene, butene-1, 4-methylpentene-1, hexene-1 and octene-1, of which propylene is preferred. The weight ratio of the ethylene units to the α-olefin units is from 73:27 to 40:60, preferably from 67:33 to 45:55. An ethylene unit content higher than 73% causes extreme deterioration in compression set at a low temperature, impairing significantly the recovery properties of the sponge rubber made from the copolymer, thus being unsuitable for sealing materials. On the contrary, an ethylene unit content of lower than 40% causes insufficient dispersion of a reinforcing agent (such as carbon black) and an inorganic filler, thereby roughening the surface of the sponge rubber. Suitable diolefins include 1,4-pentadiene, 1,4-hexadiene, divinylbenzene, dicyclopentadiene, methylene norbornene, ethylidene norbornene and vinyl norbornene, of which ethylidene norbornene is particularly preferred. The content of the diolefin in the copolymer is, in terms of the iodine value, in the range of from 10 to 36, preferably from 12 to 32. An iodine value of less than 10 involves problem that it increases the compression set; and it lowers the vulcanization rate, requiring a larger amount of vulcanization accelerating agent, which causes blooming. On the contrary, an iodine value of more than 36 involves the problems such that it increases the hysteresis loss, increasing the hardness of the sponge rubber, and raising the production cost. The Mooney viscosity (ML₁+₄121°C) of the copolymer is in the range of from 135 to 200, preferably 140 to 180. A Mooney viscosity of less than 135 impairs the characteristics of the compression set and hysteresis loss of the sponge rubber. On the other hand, a Mooney viscosity of more than 200 impairs kneading processability, causing formation of coagulation lumps, and additionally surface roughening and edge defect, of extrusion molded articles, even though the compression set and hysteresis loss are improved. Therefore, it is not suitable for practical applications. The copolymer used in the present invention can be manufactured by a conventional process. That is, the copolymer can be manufactured by feeding ethylene, an α-olefin and a diolefin, and additionally a molecular weight modifier such as hydrogen gas, into a reaction medium in the presence of a Ziegler catalyst such as a soluble vanadium compound and an organoaluminum compound. The reaction media include aliphatic hydrocarbons such as pentane, hexane, heptane, octane and kerosene; alicyclic hydrocarbons such as cyclohexane; aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene and xylene; and halogenated hydrocarbons such as chlorobenzene, carbon tetrachloride, tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, ethyl chloride, methylene chloride and dichlororethane; or mixtures thereof. The soluble vanadium compound is exemplified by vanadium tetrachloride, vanadyl trichloride, vanadium triacetylacetonate, vanadyl diacetylacetonate, vanadyl trialkoxides represented by VO(OR)₃ (wherein R is an aliphatic hydrocarbon radical), halogenated vanadyl alkoxides represented by VO(OR) n X 3-n (wherein R is an aliphatic hydrocarbon radical, X is a halogen atom, and 0 < n < 3), or mixtures thereof. The organoaluminum compounds include compounds represented by R m AlX 3-m (wherein R is an aliphatic hydrocarbon radical, X is a halogen atom, and 1 ≦ m ≦ 3) such as triethylaluminum, diethylaluminum chloride, ethylaluminum sesquichloride and ethylaluminum dichloride, or mixtures thereof. The sponge composition of the invention is characterized by incorporation of from 30 to 130 parts by weight of a plasticizer per 100 parts by weight of the copolymer. Further additives may be added thereto such as a foaming agent, a vulcanizing agent, a vulcanization accelerator, a vulcanization aid, and a filler. The plasticizers employed in the present invention may be those usually used for rubber and include process oils, lubricating oils, paraffins, liquid paraffins, petroleum asphalt, petroleum jelly, coal tar pitch, castor oil, linseed oil, factice, beeswax, ricinoleic acid, palmitic acid, barium stearate, calcium stearate, zinc laurate, atactic polypropylene and coumarone-indene resins, of which process oils are preferable. The plasticizer is used in an amount of from 30 to 130 parts by weight, preferably from 50 to 130 parts by weight, more preferably from 70 to 130 parts by weight, per 100 parts by weight of the copolymer. The use of the plasticizer within such a range makes feasible the manufacture of a soft sponge rubber without impairing the processability at kneading or shape-retaining property. The vulcanizing agents which may be used in the present invention include sulfur, sulfur chloride, sulfur dichloride, morpholine disulfide, alkylphenol disulfides, tetramethylthiuram disulfide, selenium dimethyldithiocarbamate, dicumyl peroxide, 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-di-(t-butylperoxy)hexane, 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-di(benzoylperoxy)hexane, 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-di-(t-butylperoxy)hexyne-3, di-t-butyl peroxide, di-t-butylperoxy-3,3,5-trimethylcyclohexane and t-butyl hydroperoxide. Among them are particularly preferable sulfur, dicumyl peroxide, di-t-butyl peroxide and di-t-butylperoxy-3,3,5-trimethylcyclohexane. The sulfur is used usually in an amount of from 0.1 to 10 parts by weight, preferably from 0.5 to 5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the copolymer. The organic peroxide is used usually in an amount of from 0.1 to 15 parts by weight, preferably from 0.5 to 8 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the copolymer. In the case where sulfur or a sulfur type compound is used as the vulcanizing agent, a vulcanization accelerator or a vulcanization aid may be used additionally, if desired. The vulcanization accelerators include N-cyclohexyl-2-benzothiazole-sulfenamide, N-oxydiethylene-2-benzothiazole-sulfenamide, N,N-diisopropyl-2-benzothiazole-sulfenamide, 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, 2-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)mercaptobenzothiazole, 2-(2,6-diethyl-4-morpholinothio)benzothiazole, dibenzothiazyl disulfide, diphenylguanidine, triphenylguanidine, di-o-tolylguanidine, o-tolylbiguanide, diphenylguanidine phthalate, reaction products of acetaldehyde and aniline, condensates of butylaldehyde and aniline, hexamethylenetetramine, acetaldhyde ammonia, 2-mercaptoimidazoline, thiocarbanilide, diethylthiourea, dibutylthiourea, trimethylthiourea, di-o-tolylthiourea, tetramethylthiuram monosulfide, tetramethylthiuram disulfide, tetraethylthiuram disulfide, tetrabutylthiuram disulfide, pentamethylenethiuram tetrasulfide, zinc dimethyldithiocarbamate, zinc diethyldithiocarbamate, zinc di-n-butyldithiocarbamate, zinc ethylphenyldithiocarbamate, zinc butylphenyldithiocarbamate, sodium dimethyldithiocarbamate, selenium dimethyldithiocarbamate, tellurium diethyldithiocarbamate and zinc dibutylxanthogenate. Such a vulcanization accelerator is used in an amount of from 0.1 to 20 parts by weight, preferably 0.2 to 10 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the copolymer. The vulcanization aids include metal oxides such as magnesium oxide and zinc white, of which zinc white is preferable. Usually, the vulcanization aid is used in an amount of from 3 to 20 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the copolymer. In crosslinking with a peroxide, a crosslinking aid may be used such as sulfur, quinone dioximes such as p-quinone dioxime, polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate, diallyl phthalate, triallyl cyanurate, and divinylbenzene. The fillers employed in the present invention are preferably inorganic fillers used ordinarily for rubber, including carbon black such as SRF, GPF, FEF, HAF, ISAF, SAF, FT and MT; fine silicate powder, calcium carbonate, talc and clay. The foaming agents employed in the present invention include sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, ammonium bicarbonate, ammonium carbonate, ammonium nitrite, N,N′-dimethyl-N,N′-dinitron terephthalamide, N,N′-dinitron pentamethylenetetramine, azodicarbonamide, azobisisobutyronitrile, azocyclohexylnitrile, azodiaminobenzene, barium azodicarboxylate, benzenesulfonyl hydrazide, toluenesulfonyl hydrazide, p,p′-oxybis(benzenesulfonyl hydrazide), diphenylsulfone-3,3′-disulfonyl hydrazide, calcium azide, 4,4′-diphenyldisulfonyl azide and p-toluenesulfonyl azide. The foaming agent is incorporated in an amount of from 0.5 to 30 parts by weight, preferably from 1 to 15 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the copolymer. A foaming aid may be used in combination with the foaming agent, if desired. As a rubber component of the foam, other rubbers or ethylene-α-olefin-diolefin copolymers may be used in combination with the copolymer of the present invention. In the present invention, a known kneader, extruder or foaming machine may be employed. The copolymer in the present invention is processed together with the above-mentioned additives into the rubber sponge composition by means of an open roll mill, a Banbury mixer or a kneader and, subsequently, the composition is made to be foamed and crosslinked at the temperature for foaming and crosslinking. A feature of the present copolymer resides in a specified Mooney viscosity range within which the compression set and hysteresis loss as well as kneading processability and extrusion processability are satisfactory, which is based on the finding regarding the significant dependence of the compression set and hysteresis loss on the Mooney viscosity and that these are improved by a higher Mooney viscosity. Another feature of the present invention resides in a diolefin iodine value range within which both of the compression set and hysteresis loss are satisfactory, which is based on the finding that the iodine value greatly affects both of the compression set and hysteresis loss and that the iodine value affects the above two characteristics in opposite directions to each other. A further feature of the present invention resides in a relatively high Mooney viscosity range of the copolymer, which makes feasible the manufacture of a soft sponge rubber which could not be achieved by the conventional techniques. In extrusion of a mixture consisting of the copolymer, carbon black, inorganic filler and plasticizer, by means of an extruder, an excessively low Mooney viscosity of the mixture impairs the shape-retaining property of the mixture. On the other hand, an excessively high Mooney viscosity involves the problems of high load imposed on the extruder, causing troubles in the production press, and increase in the hardness of the resultant foamed sponge rubber, causing loss of the softness thereof even though its shape-retaining property is improved. Therefore, the Mooney viscosity of the mixture is required to be controlled within a suitable range (ML₁+₄100°C of 30 to 60). In order to provide a mixture of a suitable Mooney viscosity, the rubber copolymer in the present invention, which has a relatively higher Mooney viscosity than conventional rubbers, can be blended with a relatively large amount of plasticizer without impairing the aforementioned shape-retaining property. A sponge rubber made from such a compound will have higher softness. The present invention this provides a sponge rubber which has superior characteristics such as compression stress, compression set, and hysteresis loss and has excellent external appearance, and further exhibits superior workability. The following examples are provided to illustrate the invention. EXAMPLES 1 TO 5 AND COMPARATIVE EXAMPLES 1 TO 6 A copolymer, Seast® SO, Seast® S, zinc white, and stearic acid shown in Table 1 were kneaded with a plasticizer shown in Table 2 by means of a BR type Banbury mixer (inside volume: 1.5 liters), and subsequently other additives shown in Table 1 were added thereto by means of 20.3 cm (8-inch) open rolls to prepare a compound. The mixture was extruded and molded into a tube by means of a 45-mm extruder provided with a tubular die (inside diameter: 10 mm, wall thickness: 1.5 mm) at a die temperature of 80°C and a cylinder temperature of 60°C. The surface smoothness of the extruded article was visually evaluated from the external appearance of the extruded tube. The molded article was heated in a hot-air vulcanization chamber for 5 minutes to give a tubular sponge rubber. The specific weight of the sponge rubber was determined, with a test specimen cut in 50-mm length, from the ratio of (weight)/(volume), the weight being measured in the air and the volume being measured from the buoyancy in water. The compression set was determined with the specimen of the tubular sponge rubber cut to a 20-mm length. The specimen was compressed by 50% of the outer diameter of the tube in a measuring mold for compression set for sponge and subjected to heat treatment in a Geer oven at 70°C for 100 hours. The test was conducted according to SRIS-0101 (physical test of expanded rubber). The hysteresis loss was determined on a test specimen prepared by cutting the tubular sponge rubber in a length direction into a flat sheet and die-cutting it with a JIS No. 3 dumbbell die. The hysteresis loss was determined from the S-S curve obtained with a Strograph in such a manner that the specimen was stretched by 100% at a rate of 500 mm/min. and returned to the original state at the same rate. An index of softness, namely the compression stress, was determined by using a specimen prepared by cutting the tube in a 50-mm length and measuring the stress of the specimen at 50% compression of the outer diameter of the tube by means of the Strograph. The results are shown in Table 2. In Examples 1 to 5 satisfying the requirements of the present invention, all the specimens had superior characteristics in all of compression set, hysteresis loss, compression stress, and surface smoothness. On the contrary, in Comparative Examples 1 to 4 in which the Mooney viscosity of the copolymer is lower than the specified value of the present invention, the specimens were not satisfactory in compression set, hysteresis loss, compression stress. In Comparative Example 5, in which the Mooney viscosity of the copolymer was higher than the specified value of the present invention and consequently a larger amount of a plasticizer had to be incorporated than the specified amount of the present invention, the specimen was inferior in surface smoothness. In Comparative Example 6 in which the iodine value of the copolymer was lower than the specified value of the present invention, the specimen was inferior in compression set. The sponge rubbers of these Comparative Examples are not suitable for the object of the present invention.

Claims: A shaped sponge rubber made by foaming a composition comprising 100 parts by weight of a copolymer and from 30 to 130 parts by weight of a plasticizer, wherein said copolymer is a terpolymer of ethylene, an α-olefin and a diolefin, which contains ethylene units and α-olefin units at a weight ratio of from 73:27 to 40:60, has a Mooney viscosity (ML₁+₄121°C) of from 135 to 200, and where the amount of diolefin units is such as to give an iodine value of from 10 to 36 to the terpolymer and said diolefin is ethylidene norbornene. A shaped sponge rubber according to Claim 1, wherein said copolymer contains the ethylene units and α-olefin units at a weight ratio of from 67:33 to 45:55. A shaped sponge rubber according to any preceding claim, wherein said diolefin units have an iodine value of from 12 to 32. A shaped sponge rubber according to any preceding claim, wherein said copolymer has a Mooney viscosity (ML₁+₄121°C) of from 140 to 180. A shaped sponge rubber according to any preceding claim, wherein the amount of said plasticizer is 50 to 130 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the copolymer. A shaped sponge rubber according to any preceding claim, wherein said amount is 70 to 130 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of copolymer. A shaped sponge rubber according to any preceding claim, which has a Mooney viscosity (ML₁+₄100°C) of from 30 to 60.

Inventors: IKETANI KOHICHI, YAMADA HIDEAKI, YAMAMOTO KEISAKU, IKETANI, KOHICHI, YAMADA, HIDEAKI, YAMAMOTO, KEISAKU
Applicants: SUMITOMO CHEMICAL CO, SUMITOMO CHEMICAL COMPANY, LIMITED
Application year: 1990
Main classification: C08L23
IPC codes: C08J9, C08F210, C08L23