Polymer composition

Claim 2

A crosslinkable composition comprising: (A) a silyl copolymer prepared by copolymerising monomers comprising ethylene or ethylene and one or more additional monomers of vinyl esters, alkyl acrylates, alkyl methacrylates, olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acids or derivatives of olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acids or vinyl ethers, with an unsaturated silane compound having one or more hydrolysable groups, said silyl copolymer containing 0.1 to 10 weight % of copolymerised units of the unsaturated silane compound and not more than 25 weight % of any copolymerised additional monomer, and a silanol condensation catalyst comprising a dihydrocarbyl tin (IV) carboxylate compound characterised in that the carboxylate units in the tin compound are provided by a dicarboxylic acid.

Claim 3

A crosslinkable composition as claimed in claim 1 wherein the carboxylate units in the tin compound are provided by a dicarboxylic acid having the general formula HOOC.X.COOH wherein X is a divalent organic group which contains 1 to 6 carbon atoms.

Claim 4

A crosslinkable composition as claimed in claim 1 wherein the silanol condensation catalyst is dibutyl tin(IV) maleate.

Claim 5

A crosslinkable composition as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the quantity of tin compound employed is in the range 0.01 to 5% by weight based on the weight of silyl copolymer in the composition.

Claim 6

A crosslinkable composition as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the unsaturated silane compound is vinyl trimethoxy silane, vinyl triethoxy silane or vinyl triacetoxy silane.

Claim 7

A crosslinkable composition as claimed in claim 1, claim 2, or claim 3, wherein the silyl copolymer contains 0.5 to 5 weight % of copolymerised units of the unsaturated silane compound based on copolymer.

Claim 8

A process for preparing a crosslinkable composition by blending together components comprising: (A) a silyl copolymer prepared by copolymerising monomers comprising ethylene or ethylene and one or more additional monomers of vinyl esters, alkyl acrylates, alkyl methacrylates, olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acids or derivatives of olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acids or vinyl ethers, with an unsaturated silane compound having one or more hydrolysable groups, said silyl copolymer containing 0.1 to 10 weight % of copolymerised units of the unsaturated silane compound and not more than 25 weight % of any copolymerised additional monomer, and (B) a silanol condensation catalyst comprising a dihydrocarbyl tin (IV) carboxylate compound characterised in that the carboxylate units in the tin compound are provided by a dicarboxylic acid.

Claim 9

A process for preparing a crosslinkable composition by blending together components comprising: (A) a silyl copolymer prepared by copolymerising monomers comprising ethylene or ethylene and one or more additional monomers of vinyl esters, alkyl acrylates, alkyl methacrylates, olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acids or derivatives of olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acids or vinyl ethers, with an unsaturated silane compound having one or more hydrolysable groups, said silyl copolymer containing 0.1 to 10 weight % of copolymerised units of the unsaturated silane compound and not more than 25 weight % of any copolymerised additional monomer, and (B) a silanol condensation catalyst comprising a dihydrocarbyl tin (IV) carboxylate compound characterised in that the carboxylate units in the tin compound are provided by a dicarboxylic acid.

Claim 10

A process as claimed in claim 7 wherein the defined silanol condensation catalyst is incorporated in the composition as a masterbatch concentrate prepared by compounding the silanol condensation catalyst with a thermoplastic polymer.

Claim 11

A process for manufacturing crosslinked articles comprising extruding the composition claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 to formed a shaped article and treating the article with hot water or steam to cause crosslinking.

Claim 12

Extrusion coated wire or cable manufactured by the process of claim 9.

Claim 13

A crosslinkable composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the silyl copolymer (A) is prepared by copolymerising ethylene, an unsaturated silane compound, and one or more other monomers selected from the group consisting of vinyl ester, alkyl(meth)acrylate, olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acids or derivative thereof, and a vinyl ether, and wherein the quantity of the other monomer(s) present in the silane copolymer is up to 40 weight % of the copolymer.

Claim 14

A crosslinkable composition comprising: (A) a silyl copolymer prepared by copolymerising monomers comprising ethylene and an unsaturated silane compound having one or more hydrolysable groups, and (B) a silanol condensation catalyst comprising a dihydrocarbyl tin (IV) carboxylate compound characterised in that the carboxylate units in the tin compound are provided by a dicarboxylic acid, and wherein the dihydrocarbyl tin compound is a cyclic diester represented by the general formula: ##STR2## wherein R 1 and R 2 are the same or different alkyl groups containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms, X is an organic divalent group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms and m is 0 or 1.

Claim 15

A crosslinkable composition comprising: (A) a silyl copolymer prepared by copolymerising monomers comprising ethylene and an unsaturated silane compound having one or more hydrolysable groups, and (B) a silanol condensation catalyst comprising a dihydrocarbyl tin (IV) carboxylate compound characterised in that the carboxylate units in the tin compound are provided by a dicarboxylic acid, and wherein the dihydrocarbyl tin compound is a cyclic diester represented by the general formula: ##STR2## wherein R 1 and R 2 are the same or different alkyl groups containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms, X is an organic divalent group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms and m is 0 or 1.

Claim 16

A process as claimed in claim 7, wherein the silyl copolymer (A) is prepared by copolymerising ethylene, an unsaturated silane compound, and one or more other monomers selected from the group consisting of vinyl ester, alkyl(meth)acrylate, olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acids or derivative thereof, and a vinyl ether, and wherein the quantity of the other monomer(s) present in the silane copolymer is up to 40 weight % of the copolymer.

Claim 17

A process for preparing a crosslinkable composition by blending together components comprising: (A) a silyl copolymer prepared by copolymerising monomers comprising ethylene and an unsaturated silane compound having one or more hydrolysable groups, and (B) a silanol condensation catalyst comprising a dihydrocarbyl tin (IV) carboxylate compound charcterised in that the carboxylate units in the tin compound are provided by a dicarboxylic acid, and wherein the dihydrocarbyl tin compound is a cyclic diester represented by the general formula: ##STR3## wherein R 1 and R 2 are the same or different alkyl groups containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms, X is an organic divalent group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms and m is 0 or 1.

Claim 18

A process for preparing a crosslinkable composition by blending together components comprising: (A) a silyl copolymer prepared by copolymerising monomers comprising ethylene and an unsaturated silane compound having one or more hydrolysable groups, and (B) a silanol condensation catalyst comprising a dihydrocarbyl tin (IV) carboxylate compound charcterised in that the carboxylate units in the tin compound are provided by a dicarboxylic acid, and wherein the dihydrocarbyl tin compound is a cyclic diester represented by the general formula: ##STR3## wherein R 1 and R 2 are the same or different alkyl groups containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms, X is an organic divalent group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms and m is 0 or 1.

Claim 19

A process as claimed in claim 7, wherein the silanol condensation catalyst is dibutyl tin (IV) maleate.

Claim 20

A crosslinkable composition comprising: (A) a silyl copolymer prepared by polymerizing monomers comprising ethylene or ethylene and one or more additional monomers of vinyl esters, alkyl acrylates, alkyl methacrylates, olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acids or derivatives of olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acids or vinyl ethers, with an unsaturated silane compound having one or more hydrolysable groups, said silyl copolymer containing 0.1 to 10 weight % of copolymerized units of the unsaturated silane compound and not more than 25 weight % of any copolymerized additional monomer, and (B) a silanol condensation catalyst comprising a dihydrocarbonyl tin (IV) carboxylate compound characterized in that the carboxylate units in the tin compound are provided by a dicarboxylic acid selected from the group consisting of oxalic, malic, fumaric, adipic, sebacic, and phthalic.

Claim 21

A crosslinkable composition comprising: (A) a silyl copolymer prepared by polymerizing monomers comprising ethylene or ethylene and one or more additional monomers of vinyl esters, alkyl acrylates, alkyl methacrylates, olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acids or derivatives of olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acids or vinyl ethers, with an unsaturated silane compound having one or more hydrolysable groups, said silyl copolymer containing 0.1 to 10 weight % of copolymerized units of the unsaturated silane compound and not more than 25 weight % of any copolymerized additional monomer, and (B) a silanol condensation catalyst comprising a dihydrocarbonyl tin (IV) carboxylate compound characterized in that the carboxylate units in the tin compound are provided by a dicarboxylic acid selected from the group consisting of oxalic, malic, fumaric, adipic, sebacic, and phthalic.