Composition for producing fuel resistant liquid polythioether polymers with good low temperature flexibility

Claim 2

A polymerizable composition comprising (i) about 30 to about 90 wt % of at least one polythioether, said at least one polythioether comprising a structure having the formula 1 —R 1 —[—S(CH 2 ) 2 —O—[—R 2 —O—] m —(CH 2 ) 2 —S—R 1 —] n 1 wherein R 1 denotes a divalent C 2-6 n-alkyl, C 3-6 branched alkyl, C 6-8 cycloalkyl or C 6-10 alkylcycloalkyl group, —[(—CH 2 —) p —X—] q —(—CH 2 —) r —, or —[(—CH 2 —) p —X—] g —(—CH 2 —) r — in which at least one —CH 2 — unit is substituted with a methyl group, R 2 denotes methylene, a divalent C 2-6 n-alkyl, C 2-6 branched alkyl C 6-8 cycloalkyl or C 6-10 alkylcycloalkyl group, or —[(—CH 2 —) p —X—] q —(—CH 2 —) r —, X is one selected from the group consisting of O, S and —NR 6 —. R 6 denotes H or methyl, m is a rational number from 0 to 10, n is an integer from 1 to 60, p is an integer from 2 to 6, q is an integer from 1 to 5, and r is an integer from 2 to 10, said at least one polythioether being a liquid at room temperature and pressure, said at least one polythioether having a glass transition temperature not higher than −55 C, (ii) a curing agent in an amount from about 90 to about 150% of stoichiometric based on the amount of at least one polythioether, and (iii) about 5 to about 60 wt % of a filler, with all wt % being based on the total weight of non-volatile components of the composition, wherein said composition is curable at a minimum temperature of 0 C.

Claim 3

The polymerizable composition of claim 1 which has a glass transition temperature T g not higher than −60° C.

Claim 4

The polymerizable composition of claim 1 which, when cured, has a percent volume swell not greater than 25% after immersion in JRF type 1 for one week at 60° C. and ambient pressure.

Claim 5

The polymerizable composition of claim 1 further comprising an additive selected from the group consisting of a pigment in an amount from about 0.1 to about 10 wt %, a thixotrope in an amount from about 0.1 to about 5 wt %, an accelerator in an amount from about 0.1 to about 5 wt %, a retardant in an amount from about 0.1 to about 5 wt %, an adhesion promoter in an amount from about 0.1 to about 5 wt %, and a masking agent in an amount from about 0.1 to about 1 wt %.

Claim 6

The polymerizable composition of claim 1 which comprises a mixture of at least two different polythioethers (i).

Claim 7

A polymerizable composition comprising (i) about 30 to about 90 wt % of at least one polythioether, said at least one polythioether comprising a structure having the formula 1 —R 1 —[—S(CH 2 ) 2 —O—[—R 2 —O—] m —(CH 2 ) 2 —S—R 1 —] n —  1 wherein R 1 denotes a divalent C 2-6 n-alkyl, C 3-6 branched alkyl, C 6-8 cycloalkyl or C 6-10 alkylcycloalkyl group, —[(—CH 2 —) p —X—] q —(—CH 2 r —, or —[(—CH 2 —) p —X—] q —(—CH 2 —) r — in which at least one —CH 2 — unit is substituted with a methyl group, R 2 denotes methylene, a divalent C 2-6 n-alkyl, C 2-6 branched alkyl, C 6-8 cycloalkyl or C 6-10 alkylcycloalkyl group, or —[(—CH 2 —) p —X—] q —(—CH 2 —) r —, X is one selected from the group consisting of O, S and —NR 6 —, R 6 denotes H or methyl, m is a rational number from 0 to 10, n is an integer from 1 to 60, p is an integer from 2 to 6, q is an integer from 1 to 5, and r is an integer from 2 to 10, said at least one polythioether being a liquid at room temperature and pressure, said at least one polythioether having a glass transition temperature not greater than −50 C, (ii) a curing agent in an amount from about 90 to about 150% of stoichiometric based on the amount of at least one polythioether, (iii) a plasticizer in an amount from about 1 to about 40 wt %, and (iv) about 5 to about 60 wt % of a filler, with all wt % being based on the total weight of non-volatile components of the composition, wherein said composition is curable at a minimum temperature of 0 C.

Claim 8

A polymerizable composition comprising (i) about 30 to about 90 wt % of at least one polythioether, said at least one polythioether comprising a structure having the formula 1 —R 1 —[—S(CH 2 ) 2 —O—[—R 2 —O—] m —(CH 2 ) 2 —S—R 1 —] n —  1 wherein R 1 denotes a divalent C 2-6 n-alkyl, C 3-6 branched alkyl, C 6-8 cycloalkyl or C 6-10 alkylcycloalkyl group, —[(—CH 2 —) p —X—] q —(—CH 2 r —, or —[(—CH 2 —) p —X—] q —(—CH 2 —) r — in which at least one —CH 2 — unit is substituted with a methyl group, R 2 denotes methylene, a divalent C 2-6 n-alkyl, C 2-6 branched alkyl, C 6-8 cycloalkyl or C 6-10 alkylcycloalkyl group, or —[(—CH 2 —) p —X—] q —(—CH 2 —) r —, X is one selected from the group consisting of O, S and —NR 6 —, R 6 denotes H or methyl, m is a rational number from 0 to 10, n is an integer from 1 to 60, p is an integer from 2 to 6, q is an integer from 1 to 5, and r is an integer from 2 to 10, said at least one polythioether being a liquid at room temperature and pressure, said at least one polythioether having a glass transition temperature not greater than −50 C, (ii) a curing agent in an amount from about 90 to about 150% of stoichiometric based on the amount of at least one polythioether, (iii) a plasticizer in an amount from about 1 to about 40 wt %, and (iv) about 5 to about 60 wt % of a filler, with all wt % being based on the total weight of non-volatile components of the composition, wherein said composition is curable at a minimum temperature of 0 C.

Claim 9

The polymerizable composition of claim 6 which has a glass transition temperature T g not greater than −55° C.

Claim 10

The polymerizable composition of claim 6 which, when cured, has a percent volume swell not greater than 25% after immersion for one week at room temperature and pressure.

Claim 11

The polymerizable composition of claim 6 wherein said plasticizer is selected from the group consisting of phthalate esters, chlorinated paraffins and hydrogenated terphenyls.

Claim 12

The polymerizable composition of claim 6 further comprising an additive selected from the group consisting of a pigment in an amount from about 0.1 to about 10 wt %, a thixotrope in an amount from about 0.1 to about 5 wt %, an accelerator in an amount from about 0.1 to about 5 wt %, a retardant in an amount from about 0.1 to about 5 wt %, an adhesion promoter in an amount from about 0.1 to about 5 wt %, and a masking agent in an amount from about 0.1 to about 1 wt %.

Claim 13

The polymerizable composition of claim 6 which comprises a mixture of at least two different polythioethers (i).