Reinforced acrylic artificial marble and method for producing the same

Abstract

The present invention provides a reinforced acrylic artificial marble with high impact resistance, low bubble entrainment, and good processability without the addition of glass fiber, and a method for producing the same. The present invention is characterized in that a polyrotaxane, an inorganic filler powder, and a curing agent are added to a slurry of methyl methacrylate and a methacrylic resin dissolved therein to form an artificial marble complex. The polyrotaxane comprises cyclodextrin, polyethylene glycol, and adamantane end-capping groups, wherein at least a portion of the hydroxyl groups of the cyclodextrin are modified with 2-hydroxypropyl groups, the hydroxyl groups of the 2-hydroxypropyl groups being modified with polycaprolactone groups, and further, a portion of the ends of the polycaprolactone groups being modified with methacryloyl or acryloyl groups. The complex is then injected into a mold and subjected to heat compression molding for curing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a reinforced acrylic artificial marble having excellent impact resistance and used in, for example, kitchen sink tops, sinks, vanity tops, hand wash basins, bathtubs, bathroom counters, etc., and a method for producing the same. Background Art

[0002] Artificial marble products that can be used for the above-mentioned applications are generally produced by, for example, mixing inorganic filler powders such as aluminum hydroxide powder and a curing agent into a slurry of methacrylic resin dissolved in methyl methacrylate to obtain a compound, which is then poured into a mold and cured under heat and pressure.

[0003] However, when producing artificial marble products, 0.1 to 30 parts by weight of glass fiber is typically added as a reinforcement to improve impact resistance. However, the addition of glass fiber increases the viscosity of the mixture, leading to air bubble entrainment during stirring and poor machinability.

[0004] Prior art literature

[0005] Patent Literature

[0006] Patent Document 1: International Publication No. WO2005 / 095493 Summary of the Invention

[0007] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0008] The invention provides reinforced acrylic artificial marble which has strong impact resistance, few entrained bubbles and good processability without adding glass fiber and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0009] Solutions for solving problems

[0010] The present invention relates to a reinforced acrylic artificial marble produced by adding a complex of polyrotaxane and inorganic filler fine powder to a slurry of methyl methacrylate and a methacrylic resin dissolved therein, and adding a curing agent to the obtained complex and polymerizing the mixture.

[0011] An example of a method for producing reinforced acrylic artificial marble according to the present invention is described. A methacrylic resin is mixed with methyl methacrylate to prepare a slurry. A curing agent is added to the mixture containing a polyrotaxane and inorganic filler fine powder. The mixture is then poured into a mold and heated and pressurized for polymerization and curing.

[0012] Thus, it is possible to produce reinforced acrylic artificial marble having high impact resistance, few trapped bubbles, and good workability.

[0013] Here, polyrotaxane refers to a molecular form in which a linear polyethylene glycol penetrates a cyclic molecule, cyclodextrin, with bulky adamantane as a capping group at both ends to prevent the cyclic molecule from detaching, at least a portion of the hydroxyl groups of the cyclodextrin being modified with a 2-hydroxypropyl group, the hydroxyl groups of the 2-hydroxypropyl groups being modified with a polycaprolactone group, and further, a portion of the ends of the polycaprolactone groups being modified with a methacryloyl group or an acryloyl group.

[0014] The modified groups provide the polyrotaxane with high solubility in a syrup containing methyl methacrylate and a methacrylic resin. The polyrotaxane may be a commercially available product or may be prepared by referring to the method described in International Publication WO2011 / 105532.

[0015] The mixing ratio of the polyrotaxane-containing slurry is preferably 0.2 to 10 parts by weight relative to 100 parts by weight of the slurry. If it is less than 0.2 parts by weight, the impact resistance is minimally improved, and even if it exceeds 10 parts by weight, no significant improvement in impact resistance is observed.

[0016] In addition, the inorganic filler powder referred to here refers to aluminum hydroxide powder, silica powder, magnesium hydroxide powder, gypsum powder, glass powder, calcium carbonate powder, talc powder, etc., alone or in a mixture thereof, and aluminum hydroxide powder, silica powder, glass powder, calcium carbonate powder, alone or in a mixture thereof are particularly preferred.

[0017] The mixing ratio of the inorganic filler fine powder is preferably 40 to 400 parts by weight relative to 100 parts by weight of the slurry of methacrylic resin dissolved in methyl methacrylate. If it is outside this range, the beautiful appearance of natural marble cannot be presented.

[0018] In addition, the curing agent is used in an appropriate amount of at least one of 2,2-azobisisobutyronitrile, benzoyl peroxide, diisopropyl peroxydicarbonate, di(2-ethylhexyl) peroxydicarbonate, di-n-propyl peroxydicarbonate, dimyristyl peroxydicarbonate, bis(4-tert-butyldicyclohexyl) peroxydicarbonate, etc.

[0019] The mold used is a mold for casting or pressing made of metal, wood, plastic, or the like, or a metal belt-shaped mold.

[0020] Effects of the Invention

[0021] The reinforced acrylic artificial marble of the present invention is produced by adding a complex composed of a polyrotaxane and inorganic filler fine powder to a slurry of a methacrylic resin dissolved in methyl methacrylate, adding a curing agent to the resulting complex, and polymerizing the mixture. As can be seen in "Table 1" below, the reinforced acrylic artificial marble has excellent impact resistance. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples.

[0023] (Example)

[0024] As shown in Table 1 below, a compound for artificial marble was prepared by mixing 100 parts by weight of a slurry prepared by dissolving 20 parts by weight of a methacrylic resin in 100 parts by weight of methyl methacrylate, adding 0.65 parts by weight of a polyrotaxane, 120 parts by weight of aluminum hydroxide fine powder, and 0.5 parts by weight of di(2-ethylhexyl) peroxydicarbonate as a curing agent.

[0025] (Comparative Example)

[0026] As comparative examples, an artificial marble compound was prepared by adding 2.2 parts by weight of glass fiber to 100 parts by weight of the slurry (Comparative Example 1), and an artificial marble compound was prepared by adding neither glass fiber nor polyrotaxane (Comparative Example 2).

[0027] The results of Dupont impact strength and Charpy impact strength measured according to the following test methods are shown in Table 1.

[0028] Dupont impact test (according to JIS K 5400)

[0029] Charpy impact test (according to JIS K 7111)

[0030] [Table 1]

[0031] Table 1

[0032]

[0033] The results in Table 1 show that the molded articles obtained in Examples 1 and 2 showed larger values ​​for Dupont impact strength and Charpy impact strength than the molded article of Comparative Example 2.

[0034] Furthermore, the results were equivalent to or better than those of the molded article in Comparative Example 1 to which glass fiber was added.

[0035] Thus, in the present invention, a reinforced acrylic artificial marble can be obtained that has improved impact resistance, few trapped bubbles, and excellent processability without adding glass fibers.

Claims

1. A reinforced acrylic artificial marble, characterized in that: The invention relates to a reinforced acrylic artificial marble prepared by adding 0.2 to 10 parts by weight of a polyrotaxane, 40 to 400 parts by weight of an inorganic filler fine powder, and a curing agent to 100 parts by weight of a slurry obtained by dissolving 1 to 60 parts by weight of a methacrylic resin in 100 parts by weight of methyl methacrylate, and polymerizing the resultant mixture. The polyrotaxane comprises cyclodextrin, polyethylene glycol, and an adamantane end-capping group, wherein at least a portion of the hydroxyl groups of the cyclodextrin are modified with 2-hydroxypropyl groups, the hydroxyl groups of the 2-hydroxypropyl groups are modified with polycaprolactone groups, and further, a portion of the ends of the polycaprolactone groups are modified with methacryloyl groups or acryloyl groups.

2. The reinforced acrylic artificial marble according to claim 1, wherein: The inorganic filler powder is aluminum hydroxide powder, silicon dioxide powder, glass powder and / or calcium carbonate powder.

3. A method for producing reinforced acrylic artificial marble, characterized in that: A complex is prepared by mixing 0.2 to 10 parts by weight of a polyrotaxane and 40 to 400 parts by weight of an inorganic filler fine powder with 100 parts by weight of a slurry obtained by dissolving 1 to 60 parts by weight of a methacrylic resin in 100 parts by weight of methyl methacrylate. A curing agent is added to the obtained complex and polymerization is carried out. The polyrotaxane comprises cyclodextrin, polyethylene glycol, and an adamantane end-capping group, wherein at least a portion of the hydroxyl groups of the cyclodextrin are modified with a 2-hydroxypropyl group, the hydroxyl groups of the 2-hydroxypropyl groups are modified with a polycaprolactone group, and further, a portion of the ends of the polycaprolactone groups are modified with a methacryloyl group or an acryloyl group. The added polymer is injected into a mold and heated and pressurized.

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