4-METHYL-1-PENTENE/alpha-OLEFIN COPOLYMER, COMPOSITION COMPRISING THE COPOLYMER AND 4-METHYL-1-PENTENE COPOLYMER COMPOSITION

Abstract

The present invention provides a 4-methyl-1-pentene/α-olefin copolymer being excellent in lightness, stress absorption, stress relaxation, vibration damping properties, scratch resistance, abrasion resistance, toughness, mechanical properties and flexibility, having no stickiness during molding operation and being excellent in the balance among these properties; a composition comprising the polymer; and uses thereof. The 4-methyl-1-pentene/α-olefin copolymer (A) of the present invention satisfies specific requirements, and comprises 5 to 95 mol % of a structural unit (i) derived from 4-methyl-1-pentene, 5 to 95 mol % of a structural unit (ii) derived from at least one kind of α-olefin selected from α-olefins having 2 to 20 carbon atoms excluding 4-methyl-1-pentene and 0 to 10 mol % of a structural unit (iii) derived from a non-conjugated polyene, provided that the total of the structural units (i), (ii), and (iii) is 100 mol %.

1 . A 4-methyl-1-pentene/α-olefin copolymer composition (X21) comprising:
 50 to 95 parts by weight of the 4-methyl-1-pentene/α-olefin copolymer (A2) comprising 50 to 75 mol % of a structural unit (i) derived from 4-methyl-1-pentene, 50 to 25 mol % of a structural unit (ii) derived from at least one kind of α-olefin selected from ethylene and propylene and 0 to 5 mol % of a structural unit (iii) derived from a non-conjugated polyene, provided that the total of the structural units (i), (ii), and (iii) is 100 mol %, wherein the copolymer (A2) satisfies the following requirements (a) to (d) and (e1): 
 (a): the intrinsic viscosity [η], as measured in decalin at 135° C., is 0.01 to 1.7 dL/g, 
 (b): the ratio (Mw/Mn) of a weight-average molecular weight (Mw) to a number-average molecular weight (Mn), as measured by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), is 1.0 to 3.5, 
 (c): the tensile modulus (YM) is 0.1 to 1000 MPa, 
 (d): the melting point [Tm], as measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), is lower than 110° C. or not observed, and 
 (e1): the change ΔHS in Shore A hardness, defined by the following equation, is 15 to 50, Shore A hardness being measured using a press sheet thereof having a thickness of 3 mm in accordance with JIS K6253, with
   Δ HS =Shore  A  hardness immediately after the starting of indenter contact−Shore  A  hardness 15 seconds after the starting of indenter contact; and
 
 
 5 to 50 parts by weight of a thermoplastic resin (B) other than the 4-methyl-1-pentene/α-olefin copolymer (A), provided that the total of the copolymer (A) and the thermoplastic resin (B) is 100 parts by weight, 
 wherein the composition satisfies the following requirement (e2): 
 (e2): the change ΔHS in Shore A hardness, defined by the following equation, is 10 to 50, Shore A hardness being measured using a press sheet thereof having a thickness of 3 mm in accordance with JIS K6253; or 
 the change ΔHS in Shore D hardness, defined by the following equation, is 5 to 50, Shore D hardness being measured using a press sheet thereof having a thickness of 3 mm in accordance with JIS K6253, with
   Δ HS =Shore  A  hardness or Shore  D  hardness immediately after the starting of indenter contact−Shore  A  hardness or Shore  D  hardness 15 seconds after the starting of indenter contact.
 
 
 
     
     
         2 . A 4-methyl-1-pentene/α-olefin copolymer composition (X22) comprising:
 5 to 49 parts by weight of the 4-methyl-1-pentene/α-olefin copolymer (A2) comprising 50 to 75 mol % of a structural unit (i) derived from 4-methyl-1-pentene, 50 to 25 mol % of a structural unit (ii) derived from at least one kind of α-olefin selected from ethylene and propylene and 0 to 5 mol % of a structural unit (iii) derived from a non-conjugated polyene, provided that the total of the structural units (i), (ii), and (iii) is 100 mol %, wherein the copolymer (A2) satisfies the following requirements (a) to (d) and (e1): 
 (a): the intrinsic viscosity [η], as measured in decalin at 135° C., is 0.01 to 1.7 dL/g, 
 (b): the ratio (Mw/Mn) of a weight-average molecular weight (Mw) to a number-average molecular weight (Mn), as measured by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), is 1.0 to 3.5, 
 (c): the tensile modulus (YM) is 0.1 to 1000 MPa, 
 (d): the melting point [Tm], as measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), is lower than 110° C. or not observed, and 
 (e1): the change ΔHS in Shore A hardness, defined by the following equation, is 15 to 50, Shore A hardness being measured using a press sheet thereof having a thickness of 3 mm in accordance with JIS K6253, with
   Δ HS =Shore  A  hardness immediately after the starting of indenter contact−Shore  A  hardness 15 seconds after the starting of indenter contact; and
 
 
 51 to 95 parts by weight of a thermoplastic resin (B) other than the 4-methyl-1-pentene/α-olefin copolymer (A), provided that the total of the copolymer (A) and the thermoplastic resin (B) is 100 parts by weight. 
 
     
     
         3 . An article comprising the 4-methyl-1-pentene/α-olefin copolymer composition according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         4 . An article comprising the 4-methyl-1-pentene/α-olefin copolymer composition according to  claim 2 .