Prepared from polyester resins

Aircraft radomes, ducting, spinners and other parts are often prepared from polyester resins in conjunction with glass cloth or mat. The principal virtue here is the high strength/weight ratio possible, particularly when glass cloth is used. Land, sea and air transport applications account for almost half the polyester resin produced. 

Polyester-based networks are typically prepared from polyester prepolymers bearing unsaturations which can be crosslinked. The crosslinking process is either an autoxidation in the presence of air oxygen (alkyd resins) or a copolymerization with unsaturated comonomers in the presence of radical initiators (unsaturated polyester resins). It should also be mentioned that hydroxy-terminated saturated polyesters are one of the basis prepolymers used in polyurethane network preparation (see Chapter 5). 

Safe preparation of polyester resins from polyfunctional monomers (Fjj > 2) without gelation requires careful optimization of average functionality and calculation of the degree of polymerization at the gel point (Pg j). Wallace Carother and PJ. Floryhave made significant contributions in this area however, a detailed discussion is outside the scope of this book. 

Paper and textile sizing agents may be made from EMA resins.In paper applications, the resins modify the viscosity of latices for sizing and enhance the ink holdout characteristics of the size. The resin also functions well as a thickener for textile sizing latices. Warp sizing agents for polyester and nylon fiber or yarn may also be prepared from EMA resins. 

About 2 X 10 Ib/year of 1 2 epoxypropane is produced in the United States as an intermediate in the preparation of various polymeric materials including polyurethane plastics and foams and polyester resins A large fraction of the 1 2 epoxypropane is made from propene by way of its chlorohydrm... 

Chlorendic Acid. Chlorendic acid [115-28-6] and its anhydride [115-27-5] are widely used flame retardants. Chlorendic acid is synthesized by a Diels-Alder reaction of maleic anhydride and hexachlorocyclopentadiene (see CyclopentadlENE and dicyclopentadiente) in toluene followed by hydrolysis of the anhydride using aqueous base (60). The anhydride can be isolated directly from the reaction mixture or can be prepared in a very pure form by dehydration of the acid. The principal use of chlorendic anhydride and chlorendic acid has been in the manufacture of unsaturated polyester resins. Because the esterification rate of chlorendic anhydride is similar to that of phthalic anhydride, it can be used in place of phthalic anhydride in commercial polyester... 

Foams prepared from phenol—formaldehyde and urea—formaldehyde resins are the only commercial foams that are significantly affected by water (22). Polyurethane foams exhibit a deterioration of properties when subjected to a combination of light, moisture, and heat aging polyester-based foam shows much less hydrolytic stabUity than polyether-based foam (50,199). 

As a dibasic acid, malic acid forms the usual salts, esters, amides, and acyl chlorides. Monoesters can be prepared easily by refluxing malic acid, an alcohol, and boron trifluoride as a catalyst (9). With polyhydric alcohols and polycarboxyUc aromatic acids, malic acid yields alkyd polyester resins (10) (see Alcohols, polyhydric Alkyd resins). Complete esterification results from the reaction of the diester of maUc acid with an acid chloride, eg, acetyl or stearoyl chloride (11). 

Polycarbonates. Polyarjiates are aromatic polyesters commonly prepared from aromatic dicarboxylic acids and diphenols. One of the most important polyarylates is polycarbonate, a polyester of carbonic acid. Polycarbonate composite is extensively used in the automotive industry because the resin is a tough, corrosion-resistant material. Polycarbonates (qv) can be prepared from aUphatic or aromatic materials by two routes reaction of a dihydroxy compound with phosgene accompanied by Hberation ofHCl(eq. 5) ... 

As small molecule fragments resulting from the initiator may plasticize the polymer and lower performance, approaches have been developed to avoid this. A dihydroxyamine can be used to form a polyester [52]. This accelerator gave a modest increase in the strength of unsaturated polyester resins. A polymerizable tertiary amine has been prepared by the reaction of A-methylaniline with glycidyl methacrylate [53] (Scheme 8). 

By depolymerizing PET waste with a polyol and subsequently condensing the oligomeric product with a polycarboxylic acid or anhydride, polyester resins are produced which have wide industrial applications. Depending on the polyol and polycarboxylic acid or anhydride used, saturated resins, alkyd resins, or unsaturated resins are obtained. PET wastes have been used for the production of alkyd resins in water thinnable paints. The materials obtained from the reaction of PET with a mixture of fatty acids high in linoleic acid content and trimethylolethane have been used in the preparation of water-dispersible coatings. Products of the depolymerization of PET with trimethylolpropane and pentaerythritol are used in the manufacture of high-solids paints. In the first step, PET is depolymerized with trimethylopropane and pentaerythritol at temperatures of 230-240°C. The final paint compositions contain 30-50% of PET depolymerization products.12... 

IPNs are found in many applications though this is not always recognised. For example conventional crosslinked polyester resins, where the polyester is unsaturated and crosslinks are formed by copolymerisation with styrene, is a material which falls within the definition of an interpenetrating polymer network. Experimental polymers for use as surface coatings have also been prepared from IPNs, such as epoxy-urethane-acrylic networks, and have been found to have promising properties. 

GENERAL PROCEDURE FOR THE PREPARATION OF UNSATURATED POLYESTER RESIN FROM A POLYETHER POLYOL... 

Preparation of a Composite Material from an Unsaturated Polyester Resin and Glass Fibers... 

Polyesters [2] find use in fibers [poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene oxybenzoate), poly(ester ethers), poly(ester amides), etc.] [1], coatings (especially unsaturated polyesters) [4], plasticizers, adhesives, polyurethane base resins, films, etc. Cross-linked polyesters prepared from glycerol and phthalic anhydride (alkyd resins) have been reviewed [20], High-melting poly aryl esters have been investigated for high-temperature applications. 

Two resins were used to do the first study on laminate construction. The first was a brominated epoxy vinyl ester resin with antimony pentoxide and the second was a brominated unsaturated polyester resin. They were both promoted to cure at room temperature with methyl ethyl ketone peroxide catalyst. The panels were then postcured at 250°F (121°C) for 8 h. Panels were prepared that varied in glass content from 25% to 70% and panel thickness varying from 0.05 in. to 0.25 in. and were tested at the same testing facility. A summary of the FSI test data for the first set of panels tested are shown in Figures 23.1 and 23.2. This graph in Figure 23.1 plots the FSI value versus the panel thickness. This data would indicate that the thickness of the test panel has no effect on the measured... 

Phthalides and phthalic anhydrides are extremely common components in a huge variety of polymers, and are prepared using many chemical processes. There are over 1300 references to polymers derived from phthalic anhydrides in the Registry File of Chemical Abstracts. Phthalic anhydride itself is used in polyester resins but there are also many examples of polyimides that are derived from related anhydrides. In this section, a few examples representing a range of structure and polymerization process are presented. 

PET is useful polymer used for fiber, film, and plastic containers such as carbonated beverage bottles. Recently, the recycling of polymers such as PET after use is attracting the attention of many researchers aware of environmental problems and wishing to find ways to save earth resources. Previous studies showed that unsaturated polyester resins can be economically prepared from recycled PET and the resins may be useful for resin concretes (1 4). However, there is little information on the molecular features of the UPE resins. Thus, we synthesized various UPE resins from PET. Especially, the PET content, chain flexibility and degree of unsaturation of the resins were systematically varied and the effects of those variables on the mechanical properties of the cured resins and polymer mortars made therefrom were studied. 

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