Abstract Improved thermoplastic materials are provided which are polymeric products comprising from 99 to 1 percent by weight of vinyl chloride units, from 1 to 90 percent by weight of N-aryl maleimide units and from 0 to 49 percent by weight of units derived from at least one other copolymerisable ethylenically unsaturated compound. Very interesting materials are obtained when the said compound comprises not more than 20 percent by weight of the polymeric product. The preferred products contain from 60 to 99 percent by weight of vinyl chloride residues, from 1 to 40 percent by weight of N-aryl maleimide residues and 0 to 20 percent by weight of residues derived from the other monoethylenically unsaturated compound.
A solid polymeric product as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said polymeric product comprises from 90 to 70 percent by weight of vinyl chloride units, 10 to 30 percent by weight of said N-aryl maleimide units and from 0 to 20 percent by weight of units of said other ethylenically unsaturated compound, the percentages totalling 100 percent.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
40 words
A solid polymeric product as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said ethylenically unsaturated compound is one whose homopolymer has a softening point at least as high as that of a homopolymer of vinyl chloride of comparable molecular weight.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
20 words
A solid polymeric product as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the N-aryl maleimide is an N-(2-substituted phenyl) maleimide.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
A solid polymeric product as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the N-aryl maleimide is a chloro- or bromo-substituted N-phenyl maleimide or is N-o-tolyl maleimide or N-m-methoxyphenyl maleimide.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
50 words
A solid polymeric product of vinyl chloride and a N-substituted maleimide which consists essentially of from 99 to 1 percent by weight of vinyl chloride units and from 1 to 99 percent by weight of units of N-phenyl maleimide, N-o-chlorophenyl maleimide, N-o-tolyl maleimide, N-m-methoxyphenyl maleimide or N- Alpha -naphthyl maleimide.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
36 words
A solid polymeric product as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said polymeric product is a copolymer of (i) vinyl chloride, (ii) N-phenyl maleimide and (iii) styrene, acrylonitrile, Alpha -methyl-styrene, vinyl ethyl ether or butadiene.