Acrylate-containing polymer blends and methods of using

Abstract

A polymer blend comprising (a) a modified block copolymer comprising (i) a polystyrene block and (ii) a polydiene block or a hydrogenated polydiene block, said polydiene block or hydrogenated polydiene block being modified to contain an average of one or more carboxyl groups; and (b) a polymer comprising a polymerization reaction product of two or more mono-ethylenically unsaturated monomers in which (i) at least one of the monomers is an acrylic or methacrylic acid ester of a non-tertiary alcohol having 1 to 14 carbon atoms, inclusive and (ii) at least one of the monomers has carboxylic acid functionality and is present in an amount ranging from about 1 to about 15 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of polymer (b), and a method of priming a substrate comprising applying the blend to the substrate.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A polymer blend comprising 
       (a) a modified block copolymer comprising  
       (i) a polystyrene block and  
       (ii) a diene block or a hydrogenated polydiene block, said polydiene block or hydrogenated polydiene block containing an average of one or more carboxyl groups; and  
       (b) a polymer comprising a polymerization reaction product of  
       (i) an acrylic or methacrylic acid ester of a non-tertiary alcohol having 1 to 14 carbon atoms, inclusive, and  
       (ii) from about 1 to about 15 parts, based on 100 parts by weight of polymer (b), of a monomer having carboxylic acid functionality,  
       wherein said polymer (b) further comprises a titanate selected from the group consisting of ethanol, 2,2′,2″-nitrilotris-titanium (4+) salt); titanium bis(ethyl-3-oxobutanolato-O 1 O 3 )bis-2-propanolato; a reaction product of tetraalkyltitanate with a β-diketone and an alkanolamine; and tetrabutyltitanate (1-butanol,titanium (4+) salt); polymer ( b )  does not comprise a nitrogen - containing monomer.   
     
     
       2. A blend of claim  1  wherein a homopolymer of said ester has a Tg less than 20° C. 
     
     
       3. A blend of claim  1  wherein said ester comprises iso-octyl acrylate. 
     
     
       4. A blend of claim  1  wherein said monomer (ii) having carboxylic functionality is selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, itaconic acid, maleic acid, maleic anhydride, fumaric acid, and citraconic acid. 
     
     
       5. A blend of claim  1  wherein a polymeric moiety capable of associating with one or more of the blocks of said block copolymer (a) is polymerized with said acrylic or methacrylic acid ester of said polymer (b), said polymeric moiety having a Tg greater than 20° C. and a weight average molecular weight above 2,000. 
     
     
       6. A blend of claim  1  wherein said block copolymer (a) is present in an amount sufficient to associate with a substrate. 
     
     
       7. A blend of claim  1  wherein said polymer (b) is present in an amount sufficient to bond to said block copolymer (a). 
     
     
       8. A blend of claim  1  wherein said titanate is present in an amount ranging from 5 to 50 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the polymer blend. 
     
     
       9. A blend of claim  1  wherein said block copolymer (a) and said polymer (b) are present in a weight ratio ranging from about 95:5 to about 5:95. 
     
     
       10. A method of priming a substrate comprising applying to the substrate a blend comprising 
       (a) a modified block copolymer comprising  
       (i) a polystyrene block and  
       (ii) a polydiene block or a hydrogenated polydiene block, said polydiene block or hydrogenated polydiene block containing an average of one or more carboxyl groups; and  
       (b) a polymer comprising a polymerization reaction product of  
       (i) an acrylic or methacrylic acid ester of a non-tertiary alcohol having 1 to 14 carbon atoms, inclusive, and  
       (ii) from about 1 to about 15 parts, based on 100 parts by weight of polymer (b), of a monomer having carboxylic acid functionality,  
       wherein said polymer (b) further comprises a titanate selected from the group consisting of ethanol, 2,2′,2″-nitrilotris-titanium (4+) salt); titanium bis(ethyl-3-oxobutanolato-O 1 O 3 )bis-2-propanolato; a reaction product of tetraalkyltitanate with a β-diketone and an alkanolamine; and tetrabutyltitanate (1-butanol,titanium (4+) salt); polymer ( b )  does not comprise a nitrogen - containing monomer .