Thermoplastic compositions with enhanced melt flow and compatibility

#The instant invention relates to a composition of a thermoplastic polymer and a triblock-copolymer or grafted comb copolymer, with enhanced melt flow during processing. Further aspects of the invention are the triblock-copolymers or grafted comb polymers itself, a method for their production and their use as compatibilizers and meltflow enhancing additives. Yet another aspect of the invention are functional alkoxyamines, which are useful for the preparation of the triblock-copolymers or grafted comb polymers.

#Productivity of formgiving and compounding processes of thermoplastic materials, such as extrusion or injection molding is often related to the melt viscosity of polymers, i.e. by lowering the melt viscosity, throughput can be increased and cycle times and energy consumption can be considerably reduced. The melt viscosity is related to the molecular weight of the polymer. Increasing the molecular weight leads to an increase in melt viscosity.

#On the other hand it is not possible to reduce the molecular weight in order to gain a reduced melt viscosity, since other important properties of polymers such as mechanical strength depend also on the molecular weight of the polymer. It is therefore a clear request of the plastic and converting industry for a material combination of low melt viscosity (or enhanced melt flow) without influence on other material properties, such as mechanical strength or transparency.

#15 g (51 mmol) 1-[1-(4-hydroxy-phenyl)-ethoxy]-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-piperidin-4-ol prepared as described in WO 02/48109, 14 g (102 mmol) K2CO3, 8.6 ml (102 mmol) allylbromide and 50 ml acetone are refluxed for 12 hours. The reaction mixture is filtered and the solvent removed by evaporation. The residue is recrystallized from 20 ml pentane. 11.3 g (66.4%) of compound 101 are obtained as white crystals with a melting point of 66-67° C.

#Compound No. Structure 101

#Elemental Analysis: Calculated C20H31NO3; C, 72.03%; H, 9.37%; N, 4.20%; Found: C, 71.46%; H, 9.36%; N, 4.27%.