Solutions of hydroxy-containing copolymers in epoxide solvents

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PREPARING HYDROXY COPOLYMER SOLUTIONS WHICH COMPRISES FORMING A SOLUTION OF (1) A MONOETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED HYDROXY CONTAINING MONOMER SELECTED FROM AT LEAST ONE MEMBER OF THE GROUP CONSISTING OF MONOETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED ALCOHOLS FREE OF HYDROXY ALKYL ESTER LINKAGES AND SULFIDE LINKAGES, HYDROXY ALKYL ESTERS OF ALPHA, BETA UNSATURATED CARBOXYLIC ACIDS HAVING NOT MORE THAN FOUR CARBON ATOMS IN THE CARBOXYLIC ACID MOIETY AND HYDROXCY ALKYL VINYL SULFIDES, THE ALKYL GROUPS OF THE SULFIDES AND ESTERS HAVING NOT MORE THAN TEN CARBON ATOMS, (2) A DIFFERENT MONOETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED COMPUND COPOLYMERIZABLE THEREWITH, AND (3) AN EPOXIDE SOLVENT COMPOUND HAVING AT LEAST ONE 1,2 EPOXIDE GROUP, AND WHICH EPOXIDE COMPOUND IS A SOLVENT FOR THE MONOETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED HYDROXY CONTAINING MONOMER, THE ADDITIONAL MONOETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED COMPOUND COPOLYMERIZABLE THEREWITH AND FOR THE COPOLYMERIZATION PRODUCT OF THE MONOETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED HYDROXY CONTAINING MONOMER AND THE DIFFERENT MONOETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED COMPOUND, AND BEING CAPABLE TO BEING REACTED WITH SAID POLYMERIZATION PRODUCT AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES, HEATING THE SOLUTION AT A TEMPERATURE BELOW ABOUT 150*C. IN THE ABSENCE OF A NONREACTIVE VOLATILE SOLVENT TO POLYMERIZE THE MONOETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED HYDROXY CONTAINING MONOMER AND THE DIFFERENT MONOETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED MONOMER WITHOUT EFFECTING ANY SIGNIFICANT REACTION BETWEEN THE EPOXIDE SOLVENT, THE MONOMERS AND THE HYDROXY COPOLYMERIZATION PRODUCT THEREOF, TO PRODUCE A HYDROXY COPOLYMER DISSOLVED IN THE EPOXIDE SOLVENT, SAID MONOMEREPOXIDE SOLUTION HAVING A VISCOSITY NOT EXCEEDING ABOUT 130 CENTIPOISES AT REACTION TEMPERATURE USED TO EFFECT COPOLYMERIZATION OF THE MONOMERS.