Resin-Impregnated Fibrous Material in the Form of a Sheet or a Web

Abstract

Disclosed herein are sheets or webs of a resin-impregnated fibrous material, including an impregnating resin, which includes a combination of a) at least one resin component A, which is selected from the group consisting of aminoplast resins and phenoplast resins and mixtures thereof; and b) at least one resin component B, which is an oligomer or polymer having ethylenically unsaturated double bonds, where at least 40 mol % of the ethylenically unsaturated double bonds are selected from the group consisting of allyl groups, acryl groups and methacryl groups. Further disclosed herein is a process for producing a resin-impregnated fibrous material, which includes impregnating a fibrous material in the form of a sheet or a web with a liquid resin composition including a combination of a) the resin component A; and b) the resin component B.

1 . A resin-impregnated fibrous material in the form of a sheet or a web, comprising an impregnating resin which comprises a combination of
 a) at least one resin component A, which is selected from the group consisting of aminoplast resins and phenoplast resins and combinations thereof; and   b) at least one resin component B, which is an oligomer or polymer having ethylenically unsaturated double bonds, wherein at least 40 mol-% of the ethylenically unsaturated double bonds are selected from the group consisting of allyl groups, acryl groups and methacryl groups.   
     
     
         2 . The resin-impregnated fibrous material of  claim 1 , wherein the resin component B comprises at least one oligomer or polymer which is selected from the group consisting of polyurethane (meth)acrylates, polyester (meth)acrylates, polyether (meth)acrylates, polyetherester (meth)acrylates, melamine (meth)acrylates, (meth)acrylate modified polyacrylates and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The resin-impregnated fibrous material of  claim 2 , wherein the resin component B comprises at least 50% by weight, based on the total weight of resin solids of component B, of at least one polyurethane (meth)acrylate. 
     
     
         4 . The resin-impregnated fibrous material of  claim 1 , wherein the resin component B has from 0.2 to 8 mol/kg of ethylenically unsaturated double bonds, based on resin solids in the resin component B. 
     
     
         5 . The resin-impregnated fibrous material of  claim 1 , wherein the resin component A comprises at least 30% by weight, based on the total weight of resin solids in component A, of at least one aminoplast resin selected from the group consisting of melamine formaldehyde resins, urea formaldehyde resins, melamine urea formaldehyde resins and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The resin-impregnated fibrous material of  claim 1 , wherein the relative amounts of components A and B are such that the impregnating resin comprises from 0.01 to 3 mol/kg of ethylenically unsaturated double bonds, based on total weight of resin solids of the impregnating resin. 
     
     
         7 . The resin-impregnated fibrous material of  claim 1 , wherein the weight ratio of resin solids of resin component A to resin solids of resin component B is in the range from 60:40 to 99:1. 
     
     
         8 . The resin-impregnated fibrous material of  claim 1 , wherein the total amount of impregnating resin in the resin impregnated sheet or web of the fibrous material is in the range of range of 10 to 80% by weight, calculated as resin solids and based on the total weight of impregnated sheet or web. 
     
     
         9 . The resin-impregnated fibrous material of  claim 1 , wherein the sheets or webs of the fibrous material is selected from the group consisting of sheets and webs of paper, cardboard and nonwovens. 
     
     
         10 . A process for producing a resin-impregnated fibrous material as claimed in  claim 1 , which comprises impregnating a sheet or a web of a fibrous material with a liquid resin formulation comprising a combination of
 a) the resin component A; and   b) the resin component B.   
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 10 , wherein the impregnation comprises
 i. a first step, where the sheet or the web of the fibrous material is impregnated with a first liquid resin formulation which contains the resin component A and which contains less than 1% by weight, based on the total weight of resin solids in the first liquid resin composition, of resin component B, calculated as resin solids of resin component B;   ii. and a second step, where the sheet or the web of the fibrous material obtained in the first step is impregnated with a second liquid resin formulation containing both the resin component A and the resin component B.   
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 11 , wherein the weight ratio of resin component A to component resin component B in the second liquid resin formulation is in the range from 60:40 to 95:5, calculated as resin solids of the respective resin components A and B. 
     
     
         13 . A method of using the resin-impregnated fibrous sheet material as defined in  claim 1 , the method comprising using the resin-impregnated fibrous sheet material for providing a plastic surface to a panel. 
     
     
         14 . A process for providing a panel with a plastic surface, which comprises providing a sheet or a web of a resin-impregnated fibrous material as defined in  claim 1  on at least one surface of the panel. 
     
     
         15 . A panel having a plastic surface, which is obtainable by the process of  claim 14 . 
     
     
         16 . The panel of  claim 15 , which further comprises a varnish on the plastic surface.