Stabilized polyester fibers and films
AssigneeEastman Chemical Company
InventorsGerald Timothy Keep, William Alston Haile, Mark Elliott Tincher
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed are fibers and films prepared from polyesters of a dicarboxylic acid, preferably terephthalic acid, and a diol selected from 1,3-cyclohexanedimethanol, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, or 1,3-propanediol. The fibers and films contain a multifunctional epoxide additive and, optionally, an antioxidant, and show an increased dry heat stability when exposed to elevated temperatures in the presence of air while preserving excellent hydrolytic stability. Also disclosed is a process for stabilizing polyester fibers by melt blending a polyester and epoxide additive and melt spinning. The fibers and films are particularly useful in applications requiring elevated temperatures.
Claims31
A polyester fiber comprising:
- i) dicarboxylic acid residues comprising about 60 to 100 mole % of a first dicarboxylic acid residue selected from the group consisting of terephthalic acid, naphthalene-dicarboxylic acids, cyclohexanedicarboxylic acids, and mixtures thereof;
- and from 0 to about 40% of a second dicarboxylic acid residue selected from the group consisting of aromatic dicarboxylic acids containing from about 8 to about 16 carbon atoms, aliphatic dicarboxylic acids containing from about 4 to about 16 carbon atoms, cycloaliphatic dicarboxylic acids containing from about 6 to about 16 carbon atoms, and mixtures thereof;
- ii) diol residues comprising about 50 to 100 mole % of a first diol residue selected from the group consisting of 1,3-cyclohexanedimethanol, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, 1,3-propanediol, and mixtures thereof;
- and from 0 to about 50 mole % of a second diol residue selected from the group consisting of aliphatic diols containing from 2 to about 16 carbon atoms, cycloaliphatic diols containing from about 6 to about 16 carbon atoms, and mixtures thereof;
- and
- iii) about 0.05 weight % (wt %) to about 5 wt %, based on the total weight of said polyester, of an epoxide additive comprising an epoxide compound with at least 2 epoxy groups per molecule.
A polyester fiber comprising:
- i) dicarboxylic acid residues comprising about 60 to 100 mole % of terephthalic acid and from 0 to about 40% of isophthalic acid;
- ii) diol residues comprising about 50 to 100 mole % of a first diol residue comprising 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol;
- and from 0 to about 50 mole % of a second diol residue comprising aliphatic diols containing from 2 to about 16 carbon atoms;
- and
- iii) about 0.05 wt % to about 2 wt %, based on the total weight of said polyester, of an epoxide additive comprising an epoxide compound with at least 2 epoxy groups per molecule.
Process for stabilizing polyester fibers comprising:
- i) melt blending a) a polyester comprising about 60 to 100 mole % of a dicarboxylic acid residue selected from the group consisting of terephthalic acid, naphthalenedicarboxylic acids, cyclohexanedicarboxylic acids, and mixtures thereof;
- about 50 to 100 mole % of a diol residue selected from the group consisting of 1,3-cyclohexanedimethanol, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, 1,3-propanediol, and mixtures thereof;
- and b) about 0.05 wt % to about 5 wt %, based on the total weight of said polyester, of an epoxide additive comprising an epoxide compound with at least 2 epoxy groups per molecule;
- and
- ii) melt spinning continuous strands of filaments.
A stabilized polyester film comprising:
- i) a polyester comprising about 60 to 100 mole % of a dicarboxylic acid residue selected from the group consisting of terephthalic acid, naphthalenedicarboxylic acids, cyclohexanedicarboxylic acids, and mixtures thereof;
- about 50 to 100 mole % of a diol residue selected from the group consisting of 1,3-cyclohexanedimethanol, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, 1,3-propanediol, and mixtures thereof;
- ii) about 0.05 weight % (wt %) to about 5 wt %, based on the total weight of said polyester, of an epoxide additive comprising a epoxide compound with at least 2 epoxy groups per molecule.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.