Interpolymer, elastic product thereof, and method of making same

Claim 1

THE PROCESS WHICH COMPRISES PREPARING A MIXTURE OF (1) A PLASTIC, RUBBERY MATERIAL CONTAINING FROM 0.01 TO 0.350 CHEMICAL EQUIVALENTS BY WEIGHT OF COMBINED -COOH PER 100 PARTS OF RUBBERY MATERIAL PREPARED BY THE POLYMERIZATION AT A TEMPERATURE OF FROM -10 TO -160* C. IN THE PRESENCE OF A FRIEDEL-CRAFTS CATALYST OF A MONOMERIC MIXTURE COMPRISING FROM 50 TO 99% BY WEIGHT OF AN ALIPHATIC MONOISOOLEFIN AND 1 TO 50% BY WEIGHT OF AN ALPHA-BETA UNSATURATED CARBOXYLIC ACID CHLORIDE AND THEN HYDROLYZING THE RESULTANT INTERPOLYMER TO CONVERT THE ACID CHLORIDE GROUPS THEREIN TO -COOH GROUPS, AND (2) AN AMOUNT OF A POLYVALENT METAL OXIDE AT LEAST EQUIVALENT CHEMICALLY TO ONE-HALF SAID COMBINED -COOH OF SAID RUBBERY MATERIAL AND FORMING A HOMOGENEOUS PLASTIC MIXTURE THEREOF, AND FINALLY HEATING THE SAID PLASTIC MIXTURE AT A TEMPERATURE OF FROM 125 TO 400* F. TO EFFECT ITS CONVERSION TO AN ELASTIC POLYMERIC METALLOCARBOXYLATE.