Process for producing a polymer composite

Abstract: The present invention provides a polymer composite comprising flexible polymer matrix and rod-shaped reinforcing member finely dispersed therein at molecular level, wherein the diameter of the section cut in right angle to the longitudinal direction of said rod-shaped reinforing member is less than 0.07 µm, and a process for producing the same.

Description: The present invention relates to a process for producing a polymer composite wherein rigid polymer reinforces flexible polymer at molecular level. Generally speaking the performance unique to a polymer material is manifested by the high-order structure but such high-order structure is influenced by the primary structure such as molecular weight, distribution of molecular weight, degree of crystallization, degree of orientation etc., especially it depends largely on the molecular structure. Therefore as the method to overcome the limit of dynamic characteristics which naturally exists, macro-fiber-reinforced composite material has been used since before. The filament-like fiber of high elasticity and high strength to be used for macro-fiber-reinforced composite may be carbon fiber, glass fiber, aramid fiber, etc. However, these fibers are usually the aggregation of fibril and microfibril and contains at various points the defects which become the cause of generation of micro-crack. For example, should the terminal of molecular chain, terminal of microfibril or terminal of each fiber which constitute the propagation route of breaking crack as shown in Fig. 1 receive an external force, the stress on such terminals shall be higher than the average stress, in other words it becomes the cause of stress concentration. Besides, since the diameter of the filament is about 10 µm, in order to uniformly distribute the external stress to the oriented fibers and exploit the limiting performance of the fiber, the adhesive force of the fiber and the matrix interface must be sufficiently large. As regards the problems of structural defect of macro-fiber and adhesion of the interface, by thinning the diameter of the fiber, the possibility of propagation of fatal defect is reduced and thus strength increases. In other words, by reducing the diameter of the fiber, local concentration of the stress may be avoided, aspect ratio L/D (L and D are respectively the length and diameter of the reinforcing fiber) becomes large, contact surface increases and the problem of poor adhesion of matrix molecule to the interface is lessened. The ultimate method of such improvement is to blend a rigid polymer. By making the molecular diameter of such rigid polymer equal to D, the critical aspect ratio is easily achieved and breaking occurs only when covalent bonding of the molecular chain breaks. As far as the adhesion of the reinforcing molecule to the matrix molecule at the interface is sufficient, the theoretical strength of the molecule shall be manifested. The effectiveness of the structure of the rigid molecule in increasing the strength of the composite is derived not only from the rigidity of the specific molecular structure but also from the strength of such molecular chain in the direction of the chain as far as such molecular chain is not folded in the generating crystal. Usually, those taking the folded chain structure produce defect at the folded point. Besides, since its amorphous part contains less number of covalent bonding in the unit sectional area, such amorphous part becomes the propagation route of cracks and therefore the rigid polymer is profitable in manifesting strength in such respect also. Consequently, when the molecular chain of the reinforced polymer has the rigidity higher than certain limit and if such reinforcing substance is uniformly dispersed in the matrix polymer in microscopic level, with addition of only small amount of reinforcing polymer, it is possible to improve various dynamic properties of the composite without accompanying actual deterioration of its processability. So far, based on such consideration, the concept of polymer composite has been advocated as described in the Japanese Kokoku Publication Sho 61-5500 or published Japanese patent Sho 55-500440. This conventional polymer composite has been basically manufactured by the method to uniformly mix the two polymers using solvent but to disperse and mix these polymers in an extremely uniform state, many difficulties exist under the present technical level and in many cases the diameter of the reinforcing member (lump of rigid polymer) exceeds several micrometers. Besides the use of solvent is indispensable and consequently the process has the problem that the polymer having no solubility in the solvent can not be used. In addition, the use of solvent is presently subject to legal restriction in many aspects and basically the manufacturing method using no solvent is preferred. From J. Appl. Polym. Sci., vol. 32, 6299-6315 (1986) a composite material is known which is made up of a rigid rod of poly(phenylene terephthalamide) and polyacrylamide as flexible coil polymer molecules in which the reinforcing rigid rod polymer is dispersed at the molecular level in the flexible coil matrix. In J. Macromol. Sci.-Phys. Vol. B17(4), 591-615 (1980) a polymer composite is disclosed comprising aliphatic polyamides as the flexible polymer matrix and, blended therein, rigid molecules of polyaramides forming fine microfibrils with a diameter of 10 to 30 nm. In Pure & Appl. Chem., vol 55, no. 5, 819-832 (1983), polymer composites of rigid and flexible molecules are disclosed, e.g. a blend of poly(p-phenylene terephtalamide) and Nylon 6, wherein poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) microfibrils of 30 nm in diamter are uniformly dispersed in the Nylon 6 matrix. J. Macromol. Sci-Phys. vol. B22(2), 231-257 (1983) discloses a molecular composite of rigid-rod flexible-coil polymer blends, wherein the rigid-rod polymer poly(p-phenylenebenzobisthiazole) as a second phase in the flexible-coil polymer poly-2,5(6)benzimidazole has a diameter of less than 100 nm. EP-0 408 166 A2 discloses a method of making a composite polymeric material comprising a rigid rod polymer, e.g. a polyazomethine, dispersed in a matrix polymer, e.g. nylon 6, wherein the rigid rod polymer is formed in situ from a dissolved dispersion of its precursor(s) in a liquid precursor of the matrix polymer, e.g. molten ε-caprolactam, and polymerising the matrix polymer precursor to form the matrix polymer. EP-0 518 062 A1 which establishes prior art according to Art. 54(3) and (4) EPC for the contracting states FR and GB designated in common, discloses a process for preparing polymer composites composed of a flexible polymer matrix, e.g. polyamide 6, and a rod-shaped reinforcing polymer, e.g. poly(p-benzamide). In said process the reinforcing polymer is formed in situ in a melt of the flexible matrix polymer. The objective of the present invention is to provide a process for producing a polymer composite having a high tensile strength and high impact resistance wherein no solvent is used and the reinforcing member (rigid polymer) may be uniformly dispersed at molecular level in the soft matrix resin. The process of the present invention provides a polymer composite comprising flexible polymer matrix and rod-shaped reinforcing member finely dispersed therein at molecular level, wherein the diameter of the section cut in right angle to the longitudinal direction of said rod-shaped reinforcing member is less than 0.07 µm. The present invention provides a process for producing a polymer composite composed of flexible polymer matrix and rod-shaped reinforcing member finely dispersed therein at molecular level, wherein the diameter of the section cut in right angle to the longitudinal direction of said rod-shaped reinforcing member is less than 0.07 µm, comprising polymerizing a monomer for forming a rigid polymer without solvent in a molten mixture of said monomer with said flexible polymer, wherein polymerization is conducted at a shear rate (as defined hereinafter) of 2.0 to 25 s -1 , preferably 2.0 to 15 s -1 . According to the present invention, the obtained polymer is classified into two kinds, namely, flexible polymer and rigid polymer. What is meant by "rigid" in the present invention is that the bonding which constitutes the polymer chain is strong, sectional area occupied by the polymer chain is small and the polymer chain is composed of the molecular structure which is subject to little extension. As far as the characteristics fall under the definition, it may be called rigid but to express it more concretely, it may be expressed by two factors, namely, the theoretical crystal elastic modulus Ec and theoretical strength at breaking σbc. The theoretical crystal elastic modulus Ec and theoretical strength σbc may be defined as follows: How to obtain theoretical value of crystal modulus of elasticity Ec and theoretical strength σbc at breaking. First the discussions shall be made on one polymer chain. Force F is applied to the polymer chain with sectional area S and length L. When the polymer chain elongates by ΔL (=L-Lo), tensile modulus of elasticity E is, E= σn/ εn=(F/S)/(ΔL/L) (In the formula, E is tensile modulus of elasticity, σn is tensile stress (σn=F/S) and εn is elongation distortion and εn represents ΔL/L). Theoretical strength σb at breaking time is, σb=F max/S=(K 1 D/8) 1/2 /S (In the formula, F max is the maximum value of stress and D represents bonding energy and K 1 is a constant). Next the polymer crystal shall be discussed. The crystal structure is in the state that the molecular chain is three-dimensionally arranged regularly and as dense as possible and in the form that long rod-shaped molecules are bundled. Therefore formula (1) and (2) apply also to the crystals. Table 1 shows the results of calculation of theoretical value of crystal modulus of elasticity Ec by formula (1) based on the lattice dynamic method. Theoretical value of tensile strength σbc of polymer crystal can be calculated from formula (2) but it may be calculated more conveniently by formula (3) given below. σbc=(5.68 x 10 -4 )/S Generally speaking when certain force is applied to the polymer chain, stress concentrates on the bonded part which is weakest in the main chain and breaking occurs at such point. The weakest bond of all the bonds of the main chain constituting the polymer, that is, the bond which has the lowest covalent bonding energy is C-C bond. Therefore, when the polymer containing C-C bond is pulled, the polymer chain breaks at such point and therefore from the breaking energy of C-C bond (D-347.3 kJ/mol (D-83 KCal/mol)), the formula (3) is derived. Theoretical strength σbc obtained from formula (3) is also shown in Table 1. Table 1 also indicates the fibrous modulus of elasticity of each polymer so far obtained. Here, a difference exists between the actual fibrous modulus of elasticity and the strength (i.e., the achieved value) and theoretical value. It is because the actual polymer is composed of crystalline structure and amorphous structure and amorphous structure gives serious influence on the dynamic characteristic of the polymer. When tensile modulus of elasticity of sample polymer composed of crystalline structure and amorphous structure is Es, modulus of elasticity of crystalline phase is Ec, that of amorphous phase is Ea and degree of crystallinity is Xc and then a serial dynamic model may be as follows: 1/Es=Xc/Ec + (1-Xc)/Ea Generally speaking Es»Ea and therefore formula (4) may be simplified as Es=Ea/(1-Xc) It shows that the modulus of elasticity of the sample polymer is mostly determined by the amorphous phase and the influence of the presence of amorphous phase to the dynamic physical property is large and the presence of amorphous phase hinders the attainment of theoretical strength. The flexible polymer such as polyethylene terephthalate, nylon-6 and poly (m-phenylene isophthalamide) which has non-linear structure has the folded polymer chain and it is difficult for them to take the fully extended chain structure and thus the attainment of theoretical value is hindered. However, as for polyethylene which is essentially a flexible polymer, it is possible to make the polymer chain fully extended if it is manufactured by the fibrous crystal growth method or gel spinning super-elongation method etc. and thereby the degree of attainment as shown in Table 1 can be achieved. As for poly (p-phenylene terephthalamide), poly (p-benzamide) and poly (p-phenylene benzobisthiazol) (with fully extended straight chain structure) which belong to high strength high elasticity polymer, degree of attainment of theoretical modulus of elasticity is sufficiently large but the degree of attainment of strength is small being around 10 percent. That means, various high molecular defects of the polymer are not eliminated and due to such defect, concentration of stress occurs to cause breaking. As for these polymers, not only from the viewpoint of molecular structure but also for physical processing method, study is being continued in order to eliminate said defects and bring the strength closest possible to the theoretical value. As aforesaid, theoretical values are the values obtained from the ideal structure of polymer crystals, namely, fully extended chain and flawless construction. The rigid polymers used in the present invention are those having high theoretical value and even in the present stage, sufficiently high degree of attainment is realized. It is because the rigidity of their molecular chain is contributing to the materialization of such characteristics. Based on such findings, when the dynamic physical characteristics of rigid polymer of the present invention are analyzed by the currently available information, the theoretical crystalline elasticity modulus, theoretical strength and the attained value of tensile elastic modulus and tensile strength of the actual fiber are as follows: Theoretical value Attained value Theoretical crystalline elastic modulus [GPa] over 150 Tensile elasticity modulus [Gpa] over 100 Theoretical strength [GPa] over 2.0 Tensile strength [Gpa] over 2.0 An example of the polymer which utilizes the physical conditions of rigid polymer as aforesaid, may be the polymer having repetitive unit structure as shown as follows: - Ar (X) n Ar' - in the formula, Ar indicates, or or X indicates -CH=N-, -COO-, -N=N(O)-, -CONH-, -N=N-, -C=C-, or -CH=CH- and n indicates 0 or 1. In the formula, all benzene rings may have substitution group for example alkyl group, halogen. The concrete examples of rigid polymer to be represented by such chemical formula may be poly(p-oxybenzoyl), poly(p-benzamide), poly (p-phenylene terephthalamide), polyazomethyne, poly(p-phenylene pyromellitimide), polybenzobisoxazol, polybenzobisthiazol, polybenzoxazol. The flexible polymer used in the present invention is a general polymer not in the category of the aforesaid rigid polymer. It may be engineering plastics such as nylon 6, nylon 66, polyether sulfon, polysulfon, polycarbonate, polybutylene terephthalate or multipurpose plastics. Polymer composite obtained according to the process of the present invention is required to contain the rigid polymer (corresponding to the rod-shaped reinforcing member) finely dispersed at molecular level and the diameter of the section cut in right angle to the longitudinal direction is required to be less than 0.07 µm. The diameter of the section of rod-shaped reinforcing member means the diameter of the section cut in longitudinal direction at the part where rigid polymer granules in the composite are gathering (the part where rod-shaped rigid polymers are gathering densely in the matrix of flexible polymer), the area of such cut section being converted into a circle with core. In order that the diameter of the section cut in right angle to the longitudinal direction of rod-shaped reinforcing member (rigid polymer part) as aforesaid is less than 0.07 µm, it is necessary to use the manufacturing method specific to the present invention. Of course, if it could be obtained without relying on such method, the effect of the present invention may be sufficiently satisfied. The method of the present invention is characterized by polymerizing the flexible polymer and the monomer to form rigid polymer in the solvent-free melt-kneading state at a shear rate of 2.0 to 25 s -1 , preferably 2.0 to 15 s -1 . The flexible polymer is as aforesaid but a characteristic feature of the process of the present invention is that the monomer for forming rigid polymer is mixed with said polymer. The concrete example of the monomer to form the rigid polymer may be, for example, p-acetoxybenzoic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic chloride, phenyl p-hydroxy-benzoate etc. when the polymer is poly(p-oxybenzoyl) and p-acetoaminobenzoic acid, p-aminobenzoic chloride when the polymer is poly(p-benzamide). In the present invention, it is required to conduct polymerization in the solvent-free, melt-knead state. Polymerization is conducted under shearing force. Shearing force may be expressed by shear fluidity in particular by shear rate. According to this invention, the time of polymerization, a shear rate of 2.0-25 s -1 preferably 2.0-15 s -1 is applied. Shear rate used here is the apparent maximum shear rate calculated by the following equations (1), (2) assuming Newtonian viscous material, from the rotation frequency measured by the rotor type miniature kneading equipment. (Coanelder EK-3-5C; Toyo Seimitsu Kogyo K.K.) δ=2 πrω/G V= πr 2 G (δ=shear rate, r=radius of the inside of the kneading vessel, ω=angular velocity, V=volume, G=gap of kneading vessel; these are illustrated in Fig. 2) Shearing force is necessary to finely disperse the rigid polymer at the molecular level. By controlling such shearing force, diameter and axial ratio of the rod-shaped rigid polymer (reinforcing phase) can be controlled. As the result, the dynamic characteristic derived from the fine structure of the rigid polymer particularly its high tensile strength and high impact resistance are obtained. The compounding ratio of the flexible polymer and the monomer may be, for example, 5-20 wt parts or preferably 8-15 wt parts of monomer as against 100 parts of flexible polymer when the monomer is p-acetoxybenzoic acid. When the monomer content exceeds 20 wt parts, the diameter of the section cut in right angle to the longitudinal direction of rigid polymer becomes over 0.07 µm and it is not compatible with the objective of the present invention to provide toughness. When it is less than 5 wt parts, the effect of the presence of rigid polymer is lost. At the time of melt-kneading, additive or polymerization initiator may be compounded upon necessity. According to the present invention, it is possible to effectively increase the modulus of elasticity and strength of the polymer by compounding a small amount of rigid polymer. Besides, by manufacturing the polymer according to the method of the present invention, polymerization may be conducted in the melt-knead state without using the solvent, thus the polymer gains an extremely high fine dispersion characteristics at molecular level. Consequently, it is not the required condition for the polymer, that the polymer has compatibility with the solvent to be used and thus the range of application widens greatly. Besides, by changing the shear rate at the time of polymerization, dynamic characteristic of the polymer may be greatly improved. [Fig. 1] The drawing to schematically indicate crack propagation route of macro fiber reinforced composite. [Fig. 2] The sectional drawing of reactor vessel of the equipment to measure the shear rate. [Fig. 3] It indicates the results of tensile strength test obtained in the Example of the present invention. [Fig. 4] The drawing indicates the shear rate dependence of number average diameter D n and number average axial ratio L/D n of rigid polymer micro fiber. [Fig. 5] The drawing is to she the shear rate dependence of tensile modulus of elasticity. [Fig. 6] The drawing is to show the shear rate dependence of tensile strength and elongation. [Fig. 7] The drawing is to show the shear rate dependence of Izod impact strength without notch. [Fig. 8] A graph to show the composition dependence of number average diameter D n of rigid polymer micro fiber of Example 4. [Fig. 9] A graph to show the composition dependence of the tensile strength of rigid polymer composite of Example 4. [Fig. 10] A graph to show the composition dependence of tensile modulus of elasticity of rigid polymer composite of Example 4. [Fig. 11] A graph to show the composition dependence of tensile strength of rigid polymer composite of Example 5. [Fig. 12] A graph to show the composition dependence of tensile modulus of elasticity of rigid polymer composite of Example 5. The present invention shall be described in further detail according to the Examples. However, the present invention is not limited to these Examples. Example 1 1.80 g of polyether sulfon and 0.2 g of p-acetoxybenzoic acid (90/10 by weight ratio) were knead by MINI-MAX Molder CS-183 MMX, Custom Scientific Instruments Inc. at 250 °C for 5 min to uniformly blend the two. The temperature of the blended material was gradually raised to 240-320°C taking about 3 hours in the polymerization tube in which N 2 gas flowed to polymerize p-acetoxybenzoic acid. Thus polymerized polyether sulfon/poly(p-oxybenzoyl) (90/10 by weight ratio) composite was again knead by miniature injection molding machine and injection-molded by test piece metal mold to obtain the sample for the tensile test. Injection molding conditions were resin temperature of 340 °C and metal mold temperature of 170 °C. Example 2 1.90 g of polyether sulfon and 0.1 g of p-acetoxybenzoic acid (95/5 by weight ratio) were knead by miniature injection molding machine at 260 °C for 5 min to uniformly blend the two. The temperature of thus blended material was gradually raised to 240 - 320°C taking about 3 hours in the polymerization tube in which N 2 gas flowed to polymerized p-acetoxybenzoic acid. Thus obtained polyether sulfon/poly(p-oxybenzoyl) (95/5 by weight ratio) composite was again knead by miniature injection molding machine and injection-molded in the test piece metal mold to obtain the sample for the tensile test. Injection molding conditions were resin temperature of 340 °C and metal mold temperature of 170 °C. Using thus obtained sample for tensile test, tensile strength test was conducted according to the following method. Tensile tester (MINI-MAX Tensile Tester CS-183TE, Custom Scientific Instruments Inc.) Tensile speed was 0.566 cm/min. Distance between marked lines of test sample L was 0.9 cm, diameter D was 0.1587 cm, rate of strain was 0.629/min and measuring temperature was RT. The results are shown in Fig. 3. Example 3 Experiment was conducted using polyether sulfon as flexible polymer and poly(p-oxybenzoyl) was used as rigid polymer to be compounded. As the monomer to produce poly(p-oxybenzoyl), p-acetoxybenzoic acid was used. 1.26 g of polyether sulfon and 0.14 g of p-acetoxybenzoic acid (90/10 by weight ratio) were knead by MINI-MAX Molder CS-183 MMX, Custom Scientific Instruments Inc. at 240 °C for 4 min to uniformly blend the two. The process was repeated to prepare the blended material of the amount sufficient for the subsequent experiment. In order to conduct the melt-kneading polymerization at different shear rate, rotor type miniature kneading machine with which rotation frequency can be regulated (Coanelder, EK-3-5C, Toyo Seimitsu Kogyo K.K.) was used. 2.5 g of blended sample was charged into the miniature kneading machine and was knead at 290-300 °C for 10 min to cause reaction. Rotation frequency was changed and the composite member with different shear rate was obtained. The fine construction of thus obtained composite member was indicated by the number average of the measured diameter of micro-fiber and fiber length including axial ratio, based on the photographs (x 20,000 and x 100,000) obtained by transmission type electron microscope (HITACHI H-300, made by Hitachi Ltd.). Measuring of physical property was made by molding the composite member by miniature injection-molding machine into dumbbell shape (for tensile test) and the shape for Izod impact test without notch (for impact test) at resin temperature of 310 °C and metal mold temperature of 180 °C. Tensile test was conducted by the same method as in Example 2. For Izod impact test without notch, MINI-MAX Impact Tester, CS-183 TI-053 was used. The dimensions of the test piece was 3.1 x 3.2 x 25.0 mm and temperature was 23 °C. Based on the above measurement, the shear rate dependence of the number average diameter D n and number average axial ratio L/D of rigid polymer micro fiber is shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 5 indicates the shear rate dependence of tensile elastic modulus. Fig. 6 indicates the shear rate dependence of tensile strength and elongation. Fig. 7 indicates the shear rate dependence of Izod impact value without notch. As it is evident from the above drawings, a large inter- dependence was noticed between the shear rate and various physical characteristics. Particularly, from around the shear rate of 2.0 sec -1 , reinforcing effect radically increases and it becomes maximum at around 8.0 sec -1 and thereafter the effect gradually decreases but it maintains still the higher reinforcing effect than at the start. Example 4 Poly(p-benzamide) was used as rigid polymer and p-acetoaminobenzoic acid was used as the monomer to give rigidity. Polyether sulfon was used as flexible polymer and experiment was conducted. Similar experiment was also conducted by selecting p-acetoxybenzoic acid/polyether sulfon mixture. P-acetoxybenzoic acid had polymerized to become poly(p-oxybenzoyl). Experiment to make the system finer and enlarge the effective composition range. Polyether sulfon/p-acetaminobenzoic acid (gross weight 1.40 g) was knead by MINI-MAX Molder CS-183 MMX, Custom Scientific Instrument Inc.) at 240 °C for 4 min to uniformly blend the two. By repeating such process, blended samples with weight ratio of the two components of 80/20, 83/17, 85/15, 87/13, 90/10, 93/7 and 95/5 were prepared. Subsequently, using the same miniature injection molding machine, melt-kneading reaction was conducted at 260 °C for 30 min to prepare polyether sulfon/poly (p-benzamide) composite. By the similar method of preparation, polyether sulfon/poly(p-oxybenzoyl) composite with different composition was prepared. Based on the photograph (x 20,000 and x 100,000) of the fine construction of the obtained composite, taken by the transmission type electron microscope (HITACHI H-300, Hitachi Ltd.) the diameter of the micro fiber was measured and it was indicated by number average. Fig. 8 shows the fiber diameter at various composition ratios. Physical property comparison experiment 1.33 g of polyether sulfon and 0.07 g p-acetoaminobenzoic acid (weight ratio 95/5) were uniformly mixed by miniature injection molding machine at 280 °C and temperature was raised to 300 °C and melt-kneading reaction was conducted for 10 min to obtain polyether sulfon/poly(p-benzamide) (95/5) composite. For comparison, 1.33 g of polyether sulfon and 0.07 g of p-acetoxy benzoic acid (95/5 by weight ratio) by the similar miniature injection molding machine at 240 °C for 4 mitt and after uniformly blending them, melt kneading reaction was conducted at 300 °C for 10 min to prepare polyether sulfon/poly(p-oxybenzoyl) (95/5) composite. Separately from 1.26 g of polyether sulfon and 0.14 g of p-acetoxybenzoic acid (90/10 by weight ratio), polyether sulfon/poly(p-oxybenzoyl) (90/10) composite was prepared under the same preparation conditions. Tensile test was conducted on both samples and the tensile strength and tensile modulus of elasticity of the composite of rigid polymer are indicated respectively in Fig. 9 and Fig. 10. The composite was molded by miniature injection molding machine at resin temperature of 310 °C and metal mold temperature of 180 °C into round dumbbell shape test piece for tensile test and physical properties were measured. Tensile test was conducted by the same method as in Example 2. As it is evident from the above results, micro fiber diameter was made finer and as the result, the effective composition range to give fiber diameter of less than 0.05 µm has expanded. Addition of even 5% of rigid polymer brings about drastic improvement of dynamic physical property. Example 5 1.33 g of polysulfon and 0.07 g of p-acetoxybenzoic acid (95/5 by weight ratio) were knead by miniature kneading reactor (Coanelder EK-3-5C, manufactured by Toyo Seimitsu Kogyo K.K.) at 250°C for 4 min to uniformly blend the two. Subsequently, using the same miniature kneading reactor, melt-kneading reaction was conducted at 290 °C for 10 min to prepare the polysulfon/poly(p-oxybenzoyl) (95/5) composite. By the similar method of preparation, polysulfon/poly(p-oxybenzoyl) (90/10) composite was prepared. Tensile test was conducted on the composite, Fig. 11 and Fig. 12 indicating the tensile strength and tensile modulus of elasticity. Measurement of physical strength was conducted by molding the composite and the polysulfon into round dumbbell piece (tensile test) by MINI-MAX molder CS-183 MMX, Custom Scientific Instruments Inc. at resin temperature of 310 °C and metal mold temperature of 180 °C. Tensile test was conducted in the same way as in Example 2. As it is evident from the above results, by the molecular level dispersion of poly(p-oxybenzoyl), strength and modulus of elasticity of polysulfon drastically improved.

Claims: A process for producing a rigid polymer composite composed of flexible polymer matrix and rod-shaped reinforcing members (rigid polymer) finely dispersed therein at molecular level, wherein the diameter of the section cut in right angle to the longitudinal direction of said rod-shaped reinforcing members is less than 0.07 µm, comprising polymerizing a monomer for forming the rod-shaped reinforcing member polymer without solvent in a molten mixture of said monomer with said flexible polymer to form the rigid polymer composite, wherein polymerization is conducted in a kneading vessel at an apparent maximum shear rate of 2.0 to 25 s -1 , the apparent maximum shear rate being defined by the following equations (1) and (2): δ = 2 πrω/G V = πr 2 G wherein δ is the apparent maximum shear rate, r is the radius of the inside of the kneading vessel, ω is the angular velocity, V is the volume and G is the gap of the kneading vessel (see Figure 2). The process according to claim 1, wherein said apparent maximum shear rate is within the range of 2.0 to 15 s -1 . The process according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the flexible polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate, nylon-6, nylon-66, polyether sulfone, polycarbonate, polysulfone, polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene, polyoxymethylene, polystyrene, polyvinylalcohol and polypropylene. The process according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 3, wherein the monomer in the polymerization step is polymerized to form a polymer having a repetitive unit structure - Ar(X) n Ar'-, wherein Ar is or Ar' is or X is -CH=N-,-COO-, -N=N(O)-, -CONH-, -N=N-, -C≡C- or -CH = CH-, and n is zero or 1. The process according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 4, wherein the monomer is p-acetoxybenzoic acid, and the ratio of monomer to flexible polymer provided to the polymerization is 5-20 parts by weight of monomer to 100 parts by weight of flexible polymer. The process according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 5, wherein the monomer in the polymerization step is polymerized to form a polymer selected from the group consisting of poly(p-oxybenzoyl), poly(p-benzamide), poly(p-phenylene), poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide), polyazomethyne, poly(p-phenylene pyromellitimide), polybenzobisoxazol, polybenzobisthiazol, polybenzoxazol and poly(p-phenylene benzobisthiazol).

Inventors: TOCHIOKA TAKAHIRO, TOCHIOKA, TAKAHIRO
Applicants: MAZDA MOTOR, MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
Application year: 1993
Main classification: C08L101
IPC codes: C08L101, C08G85, C08L77, C08L67, C08L81