Adhesive compositions comprising ethylenic polymers

Abstract: An adhesive composition comprises by weight: (A) 2 to 98% of an ethylene copolymer comprising from 50 to 90% of ethylene, up to 49% by weight of an alkyl ester of a C3 to 8 α,ß-unsaturated carboxylic acid and from 0.5 to 10% of maleic anhydride; (B) 2 to 98% of a crystalline polyethylene resin comprising (i) an ethylene homopolymer or (ii) a copolymer of ethylene and an α-olefin having 3 or more carbon atoms, the ethylene content being 90% by weight or more; and (C) 2 to 50%, of a non-crystalline or low crystalline olefin copolymer rubber comprising a copolymer of ethylene and an α-olefin having 3 or more C atoms, e.g. propylene, and optionally up to 3% of a non-conjugated diene ; the sum of the monomers in (A) and of components (A), (B) and (C) being each 100%. (B) and (C) are respectively of high and low rigidity of flexural rigidity modulus respectively 1500 kg/cm² or more and below 1500 kg/cm². The composition has good adhesion to polar materials, e.g. to copolymers of ethylene and PVA.

Description: The present invention relates to an adhesive resin composition comprising an ethylene copolymer containing maleic anhydride. More particularly, it relates to an adhesive resin composition comprising a blend of, in specific proportions, an ethylene copolymer containing maleic anhydride; a crystalline polyethylene resin comprising either an ethylene homopolymer or a copolymer of ethylene and an α-olefin having 3 or more carbon atoms, with an ethylene content being 90% or more; and a non-crystalline or low crystalline olefin copolymer rubber; which composition possesses excellent adhesion to polar materials. As is well known, polyolefins, for example polyethylene or polypropylene, have various excellent physical, chemical, and mechanical properties and good moldability. Due to these advantages and because of their inexpensiveness, polyolefins are being extensively used in a wide range of industrial fields. However, since such polyolefins are nonpolar; they suffer from the defect that it is difficult to make composite materials with polar materials such as metals, glass or polar high-molecular weight materials. In order to overcome this defect, it has been customary to copolymerize an olefin polymer with a monomer having a polar group. However, such copolymers may have insufficient adhesion and, in addition, their heat resistance is insufficient. Therefore, it has been proposed in JP-W-63-500179 to blend these copolymers with polyolefins. (The term "JP-W" means an unexamined published international patent application.) Further, JP-A-60-63240 proposes to blend those copolymers with elastomers. (The term "JP-A" means an unexamined published Japanese patent application.) However, these proposed compositions do not always show sufficient adhesive strength. Although blending with a large proportion of an elastomer brings about a slight improvement in adhesive strength, such a composition not only has poor mechanical strength and but also, when molded into a film, shows poor anti-blocking properties and reduced solvent resistance. JP-A-62-263241 proposes a composition comprising an ethylene copolymer containing a polar group, polypropylene, and an olefin copolymer rubber. This composition, however, has been found to still have insufficient adhesion to polar materials such as polar high-molecular weight materials. In addition, EP-A-0465365 discloses a thermoplastic composition comprising a copolymer based on ethylene and maleic anhydride, a crystalline polyethylene resin and a butyl rubber. An object of the present invention is to provide a resin composition showing excellent adhesion to polar materials, which can overcome the above-described problems. We have conducted extensive studies on resin compositions obtained by melt kneading an ethylene copolymer containing maleic anhydride with a crystalline polyethylene resin, with respect e.g. to the kind and proportion of the blended resin. As a result, it has been found that the presence of both a high-rigidity component and a low-rigidity component is requisite for the development of sufficient adhesive strength and that there is an optimum rigidity value which an adhesive resin composition should have for attaining sufficient adhesive strength. It is known that the larger the energy absorbed during peeling, the higher the adhesive strength. This energy can be expressed by the product of the stress applied to the peeling site and deformation. If an adhesive resin composition has too low rigidity, the applied stress is small, while if it has too high rigidity, little deformation occurs. Thus, it has been ascertained through extensive investigations that optimum rigidity is present. The necessity of both of a high-rigidity component and a low-rigidity component has been proven by the fact that the presence of both components in an adhesive resin composition change the deformation mode for the composition from elastic deformation to plastic deformation and, accordingly, serves to increase the amount of peeling energy consumed and make the composition less apt to be peeled off. It has, therefore, been found that an adhesive resin composition having excellent adhesion can be obtained by adding a crystalline polyethylene resin as a high-rigidity component and a non-crystalline or low crystalline olefin copolymer rubber as a low-rigidity component, in specific proportions, to an ethylene copolymer containing maleic anhydride, and melt kneading these components. The adhesive resin composition of the present invention comprises by weight: (A) from 5 to 90% of an ethylene copolymer comprising from 50 to 90% of ethylene, from 0 to 49% of an α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid alkyl ester, and from 0.5 to 10% of maleic anhydride, the sum of these monomers being 100%; (B) from 5 to 90% of a crystalline polyethylene resin comprising either an ethylene homopolymer or a copolymer of ethylene and an α-olefin having 3 or more carbon atoms, the ethylene content being 90% or more; and (C) from 5 to 30% of a non-crystalline or low crystalline olefin copolymer rubber comprising a copolymer of ethylene and an α-olefin having 3 or more carbon atoms, the sum of the components (A), (B) and (C) being 100%, and said component (B) and/or (C) having a heat of fusion as determined by a differential scanning calorimeter of 20 cal/g or more and a flexural rigidity modulus of 1,500 kg/cm₂ or more, and said adhesive resin composition having a flexural rigidity modulus of 500 to 2,500 kg/cm₂. Ethylene copolymer (A) employed in the composition of the present invention is a copolymer comprising ethylene, an α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid alkyl ester and maleic anhydride, with the ethylene content being from 50 to 90% by weight, preferably from 60 to 85% by weight, an α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid alkyl ester content being from 0 to 49% by weight, preferably from 0 to 30% by weight, more preferably from 3 to 25% by weight, and a maleic anhydride content being from 0.5 to 10% by weight, preferably from 1 to 5% by weight, and with the sum of these comonomers being 100% by weight. The α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid alkyl ester is an alkyl ester of an α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid having from 3 to 8 carbon atoms such as acrylic acid or methacrylic acid. Specific examples of the ester include methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, n-propyl acrylate, isopropyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate, t-butyl acrylate, isobutyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, n-propyl methacrylate, isopropyl methacrylate, n-butyl methacrylate, t-butyl methacrylate and isobutyl methacrylate. Of these, methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate are preferred. The melt flow rate of ethylene copolymer (A) is not particularly limited but preferably is from 0.5 to 200 g/10 min, more preferably from 1 to 50 g/10 min. Crystalline polyethylene resin (B) employed in the composition of the present invention is either an ethylene homopolymer or a copolymer of ethylene and an α-olefin having 3 or more carbon atoms, with the ethylene content being 90% by weight or more. Examples of the α-olefin include propylene, butene-1, pentene-1, hexene-1, 4-methyl-pentene-1 and octene-1. Two or more of these α-olefins may be used in combination. Specific examples of crystalline polyethylene resin (B) include various ethylene homopolymers and copolymers such as low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, and linear low-density polyethylenes including ethylene-butene-1 copolymers, ethylene-hexene-1 copolymers, ethylene-4-methyl-pentene-1 copolymers and ethylene-octene-1 copolymers. A mixture of two or more of these polyethylene resins may also be used. It is preferable in the present invention that the crystalline polyethylene resin (B) has a heat of fusion as determined with a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) of 20 cal/g or more, more preferably 30 cal/g or more, and a flexural rigidity modulus of 1,500 kg/cm² or more, more preferably 2,000 kg/cm² or more. Non-crystalline or low crystalline olefin copolymer rubber (C) employed in the composition of the present invention comprises a copolymer of ethylene and an α-olefin having 3 or more carbon atoms. Examples of the α-olefin include ones enumerated above for crystalline polyethylene resin (B), with propylene, butene-1, 4-methylpentene and hexene-1 being preferred. These α-olefins may also be used in a combination of two or more thereof. The copolymer may contain a small proportion (3% by weight or less) of a non-conjugated diene. The heat of fusion of this non-crystalline or low crystalline olefin copolymer rubber (C) as determined by DSC is preferably below 20 cal/g, more preferably 15 cal/g or less. The flexural rigidity modulus of rubber (C) is preferably below 1,500 kg/cm², more preferably 1,000 kg/cm² or less. The most preferred as rubber (C) is a copolymer of ethylene and propylene. The completed adhesive resin comprosition of the invention preferably has a flexural rigidity modulus of from 500 to 2,500 kg/cm², more preferably from 500 to 2,000 kg/cm². The essential and preferred ranges of the three components of the composition are shown as follows, in % by weight: essential preferred more preferred copolymer (A) 2 to 98 5 to 95 5 to 90 resin (B) 2 to 98 5 to 95 5 to 90 rubber (C) 2 to 50 5 to 40 5 to 30 If the content of the component (B) is below 2% by weight or exceeds 98% by weight, the composition has poor adhesion. If the content of the component (C) is below 2% by weight, the composition has poor adhesion. If the content of the component (C) exceeds 50% by weight, the composition has not only poor adhesion but poor mechanical properties and, in addition, films obtained from the opposition have poor anti-blocking properties and reduced solvent resistance. The adhesive resin composition according to the present invention can be produced, for example, by a melt kneading method in which ethylene copolymer (A), crystalline polyethylene resin (B) and non-crystalline or low crystalline olefin copolymer rubber (C) are melt kneaded together by means of an extruder, a Banbury mixer or a kneader, at a temperature between 150 and 300°C, preferably between 190 and 280°C for a period of time of from 0.3 to 10 minutes, preferably from 0.5 to 5 minutes. From the industrial standpoint, continuous production employing a single-screw or twin-screw extruder is advantageous. If desired, the components (A), (B) and (C) can be blended beforehand in a pelletized state and melt kneaded in the molding stage. If desired, various additives and fillers can be incorporated into the adhesive resin composition of the present invention during the production of the composition or during the processing of the produced composition. Examples of such additives and fillers include antioxidants, heat stabilizers, light stabilizers, nucleating agents, lubricants, antistatic agents, inorganic or organic fillers, inorganic or organic colorants, anti-corrosive agents, crosslinking agents, blowing agents, plasticizers, fluorescent agents, surface lubricants and gloss improvers. The thus-obtained adhesive resin composition of the present invention can tenaciously adhere to various polar materials such as polar high-molecular weight materials, e.g., ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymers, polyamides, polyethylene terephthalate, and polybutylene terephthalate and glass. Using the adhesive resin composition of the present invention, various kinds of composite materials having excellent adhesion, such as covered products, laminates, and reinforced resins, can be produced by utilizing known processing techniques. For example, in producing laminates using the adhesive resin composition, powder coating (such as fluidized bed dip coating, electrostatic coating and flame spray coating), solution coating, extrusion coating, co-extrusion, dry laminating, hot-press bonding or insert molding, or a combination of these can suitably be employed depending on the purposes. Further, extrusion, injection molding or the like can be employed to produce filler-reinforced or fiber-reinforced resins or similar products using the composition of the present invention. The present invention is illustrated below in more detail with reference to the following examples. In the Examples and Comparative Examples, the physical properties were evaluated according to the following test methods. (1) Melt Flow Rate (MFR): JIS-K6760 (190°C) (2) Flexural Rigidity Modulus (unit: kg/cm²): ASTM-D747 (3) Maleic Anhydride Content (wt%) in Ethylene Copolymer (A): A small amount of a sample was purified by dissolution in hot xylene and precipitation with absolute acetone. The purified sample was redissolved in xylene, and the solution was titrated with an NaOH methanol solution using phenolphthalein as an indicator while heating at 110 to 120°C. (4) α,β-Unsaturated Carboxylic Acid Alkyl Ester content (wt%) in Ethylene Copolymer (A): A sample was pressed into a sheet and analyzed by infrared absorption spectrometry, in which the absorbance for an absorption peak appearing at around 1,750 cm⁻¹ due to the C=O of the ester was corrected for thickness, and the content was determined by the calibration curve method. (5) Heat of Fusion determined with Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC): DSC-4 manufactured by Perkin Elmer Inc. was used. A sample was formed into a about 0.5 mm-thick sheet by hot pressing, and a test piece weighing about 10 mmg was cut out of the sheet. This test piece was placed on a sample pan, pre-melted in DSC at 150°C for 5 minutes, cooled to 50°C at a rate of 5°C/min, maintained at this temperature for 5 minutes, and then heated to 200°C at a rate of 5°C/min. Thus, a thermogram was obtained, from which heat of fusion (cal/g) per gram of sample was determined. (6) Adhesive Strength (unit: g/15 mm): A film obtained by laminating was cut into a 15-mm width in the machine direction (MD). The adhered laminae were peeled off beforehand at one end of the sample, and the peeled parts of both laminae were secured to the grips of a tensile tester. T-peel was then conducted with this tensile tester by pulling the test piece at a rate of 200 mm/min, and the tensile strength required for the pulling was measured. EXAMPLE 1 Twenty parts by weight of an ethylene-ethyl acrylatemaleic anhydride copolymer (85/12/3 by weight; MFR, 3 g/10 min; referred to as BD-1) as ethylene copolymer (A), 40 parts by weight of high-density polyethylene (MFR, 13 g/10 min; density, 0.965 g/cm³; heat of fusion by DSC, 47.3 cal/g; referred to as HDPE) as crystalline polyethylene resin (B), and 40 parts by weight of an ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber (MFR, 8 g/10 min; Mooney viscosity (ML₁+₄, 100°C), 12; density, 0.87 g/cm³; heat of fusion by DSC, 0; referred to as EPR-1) as non-crystalline or low crystalline olefin copolymer rubber (C) were mixed into a uniform mixture with a Henschel mixer. The mixture was melt kneaded with a 30-mm twin-screw extruder (TEX 30, manufactured by The Japan Steel Works, Ltd.) at a temperature of 200°C for an average residence time of 1.0 minute, to obtain an adhesive resin composition. Using this adhesive resin composition and an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer [EVAL EP-F, manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd.; referred to as EVOH-F], a two-resin two-layer film in which the two layers each had a thickness of 0.025 mm was prepared by co-extrusion. This co-extrusion was conducted using a die having a width of 250 mm at a processing temperature of 230°C and at a take-up rate of 15 m/min. The adhesive strength between both resins was measured by the T-peel method and found to be 235 g/15 mm. The results obtained are shown in Table 1. EXAMPLES 2 AND 3 AND COMPARATIVE EXAMPLES 1 TO 4 The same procedures as in Example 1 were conducted except that the proportions by weight of the three components were changed as shown in Table 1. The results obtained are summarized in Table 1. A BD-1 B HDPE C EPR-1 Flexural Rigidity Modulus Adherend Adhesion Strength Ex. 1 20 40 40 1450 EVOH-F 235 Comp. Ex. 1 100 - - 400 EVOH-F 60 Comp. Ex. 2 60 40 - 2370 EVOH-F 15 Comp. Ex. 3 60 - 40 220 EVOH-F 100 Comp. Ex. 4 20 80 - 5830 EVOH-F 5 Ex. 2 60 20 20 750 EVOH-F 180 Ex. 3 40 30 30 1450 EVOH-F 235 EXAMPLE 4 The same procedures as in Example 1 were conducted except that an ethylene-ethyl acrylate-maleic anhydride copolymer (95/3/2 by weight; MFR, 2 g/10 min; referred to as BD-2) was used as ethylene copolymer (A) in place of BD-1. The results obtained are shown in Table 2. EXAMPLES 5 AND 6 AND COMPARATIVE EXAMPLES 5 TO 7 The same procedures as in Example 4 were conducted except that the proportions by weight of the three components were changed as shown in Table 2. The results obtained are summarized in Table 2. A BD-2 B HDPE C EPR-1 Flexural Rigidity Modulus Adherend Adhesion Strength Ex. 4 20 40 40 1700 EVOH-F 330 Comp. Ex. 5 100 - - 1390 EVOH-F 25 Comp. Ex. 6 60 40 - 3000 EVOH-F 10 Comp. Ex. 7 60 - 40 510 EVOH-F 100 Ex. 5 60 20 20 1510 EVOH-F 170 Ex. 6 40 30 30 1610 EVOH-F 275 EXAMPLE 7 The same procedures as in Example 3 were conducted except that linear low-density polyethylene (referred to as LLDPE) having an MFR of 8 g/10 min, a density of 0.925 g/cm³, and a heat of fusion of 31 cal/g was used as crystalline polyethylene resin (B) in place of HDPE. The results are shown in Table 3. EXAMPLES 8 TO 10 The same procedures as in Example 3 were conducted except that as the adherend, each of EVAL EP-E (manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd.; a processing temperature, 230°C; referred to as EVOH-E), a polyamide (CM 1021, manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.; processing temperature, 240°C; referred to as PA), and a copolyamide (5033 B, manufactured by Ube Industries, Ltd., Japan; used at a processing temperature of 210°C; referred to as Co-PA) was used in place of EVOH-F. The results obtained are summarized in Table 3. COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 8 The same procedures as in Example 3 were conducted except that polypropylene (referred to as PPr) (Noblen AW 564, manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited) having an MFR at 230°C of 9 g/10 min and a density of 0.90 g/cm³ was used in place of HDPE. The results obtained are shown in Table 3. COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 9 The same procedures as in Comparative Example 8 were conducted except that an ethylene-propylene copolymer (referred to as EPR-2) having an MFR of 0.4 g/10 min, a Mooney viscosity (ML₁+₄, 100°C) of 65, a density of 0.87 g/cm³, a heat of fusion of 0 cal/g was used in place of EPR-1 and that the proportions by weight of the three components were changed as shown in Table 3. The results obtained are shown in Table 3. As described above, the adhesive resin composition of the present invention, obtained by blending a high-rigidity component and a low-rigidity component in specific proportions with a copolymer of ethylene, an α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid alkyl ester, and maleic anhydride, shows greatly improved adhesion to polar materials. Therefore, it is exceedingly useful in various industrial fields.

Claims: An adhesive resin composition comprising by weight: (A) from 5 to 90% of an ethylene copolymer comprising from 50 to 90% of ethylene, from 0.5 to 10% of maleic anhydride, and optionally up to 49% of an α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid alkyl ester, the sum of these monomers being 100%; (B) from 5 to 90% of a crystalline polyethylene resin comprising either an ethylene homopolymer or a copolymer of ethylene and an α-olefin having 3 or more carbon atoms, the ethylene content being 90% or more; and (C) from 5 to 30% of a non-crystalline or low crystalline olefin copolymer rubber comprising a copolymer of ethylene and an α-olefin having 3 or more carbon atoms and optionally up to 3% of a non-conjugated diene, with the sum of the components (A), (B) and (C) being 100% by weight, and said component (B) and/or (C) having a heat of fusion as determined by a differential scanning calorimeter of 20 cal/g or more and a flexural rigidity modulus of 1,500 kg/cm₂ or more, and said adhesive resin composition having a flexural rigidity modulus of 500 to 2,500 kg/cm₂. An adhesive resin composition as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said ethylene copolymer (A) comprises from 60 to 85% of ethylene, from 0 to 30% of an α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid alkyl ester, and from 1 to 5% of maleic anhydride, with the sum of these monomers being 100% by weight. An adhesive resin composition as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the copolymer rubber (C) is an ethylene-propylene copolymer. An adhesive resin composition as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the melt flow rate of the ethylene copolymer (A) is 0.5 to 200 g/10 min. Polar materials which are adhered together by means of an adhesive composition as claimed in any preceding claim.

Inventors: FUJITA HARUNORI, OHMAE TADAYUKI, OKADA MITSUYUKI, TANAKA HISAO, TOYOSHIMA YOSHIKI, FUJITA, HARUNORI, OHMAE, TADAYUKI, OKADA, MITSUYUKI, TANAKA, HISAO, TOYOSHIMA, YOSHIKI
Applicants: SUMITOMO CHEMICAL CO, SUMITOMO CHEMICAL COMPANY, LIMITED
Application year: 1992
Main classification: C09J123
IPC codes: C08L23, C09J123