Arborescent thermoplastic elastomers and products therefrom

A process for producing an arborescent branched block copolymer of a polyisoolefin and a polymonovinylidene arene, comprising:

• a) polymerizing an isoolefin in the presence of at least one inimer and a Lewis acid halide coinitiator, at a temperature of between about −20° C. and −100° C. to produce an arborescent elastomeric branched polyisoolefin polymer having more than one branching point, the inimer including at least one group for (co)polymerizing in a cationic polymerization of the isoolefin and at least one group for initiating cationic polymerization of the isoolefin;
• and thereafter
• b) adding a compound having an effective electron pair donor for improving blocking efficiency and adding a monovinylidene arene suitable for the production of the polyvinylidene plastic blocks with some or all of the branches of the aforesaid arborescent elastomeric branched polyisoolefin polymer being terminated with polymonovinylidene arene plastic endblocks;
• and
• c) terminating said polymerization reaction after a selected period of time by addition of an effective nucleophile compound which terminates said polymerization reaction, said selected period of time being sufficiently long enough to ensure production of at least individual units of said arborescent branched block copolymer the arborescent branched block copolymer of a polyisoolefin and a polymonovinylidene arene having thermoplastic elastomeric properties.

A process for producing an arborescent branched polyisoolefin block copolymer, comprising:

• a) polymerizing an isoolefin in the presence of an inimer and a Lewis acid halide coinitiator at a temperature of between about −20° C. and −100° C. to produce an elastomeric arborescent branched polyisoolefin polymer having more than one branching point, the the inimer having a formula
• where R can be H, CH3 or an alkyl or aryl group;
• thereafter
• b) adding a compound having an effective electron pair donor for improving blocking efficiency and adding a monovinylidene arene suitable for the production of the polyvinylidene arene plastic endblocks;
• and
• C) terminating said polymerization reaction after a selected period of time by addition of an effective nucleophile compound which terminates said polymerization reaction, said selected period of time being sufficiently long enough to ensure production of at least individual units of said elastomeric arborescent branched block copolymer with some or all of the branches of the aforesaid elastomeric arborescent polyisoolefin polymer block terminated in polymonovinylidene arene plastic endblocks, the arborescent branched block copolymer having thermoplastic elastomeric properties.