Polymer blends having improved heat resistance

Abstract

An embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a polymer composition comprising a crosslinked reaction product of an ionomer and a silane crosslinker. The ionomer may comprise an E / X / Y polymer, where E is an ethylene monomer, X is an α,β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid comonomer or ester thereof having 3-8 carbons, and Y is an alkyl acrylate or dicarboxylic acid comonomer. The ionomer comprises 1-30 wt% X and 0-40 wt% Y. At least a portion of the carboxyl groups of X and optionally Y are neutralized with a metal cation. The silane crosslinker may be a polymer having the formula Z((CH2) a Si(OR) b ) c Z is a monofunctional reactive group, R is an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms or a hydrogen atom, a is 1 to 4, b is 3, and c is 1 to 2.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] (CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS) This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 276,253, filed November 5, 2021, and entitled "POLYMER BLENDS HAVING IMPROVED THERMAL RESISTANCE," the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this disclosure.

[0002] FIELD OF THEINVENTION FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to polymers, and more specifically to ionomers. [Background technology]

[0003] Thermoplastic ionomers based on poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) ("EMAA") are used in coating and packaging applications. These applications require high transparency, low haze, metallic luster, high mechanical modulus, and good heat resistance. The materials can provide the required transparency, haze level, and metallic luster at low temperatures. However, due to low crystallinity and lamellar thickness, they cannot provide these properties as well as the required mechanical modulus and heat resistance. Thus, there remains a need for thermoplastic ionomers that can provide the required transparency, clarity, luster, and mechanical modulus at both low and high temperatures. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of the present disclosure address this need by providing polymer compositions obtained by crosslinking E / X / Y ionomers and silane crosslinkers, which provide improved mechanical properties at high temperatures compared to conventional polymer compositions.

[0005] In one embodiment, the polymer composition comprises a crosslinked reaction product of an ionomer comprising an E / X / Y polymer and a silane crosslinker. The ionomer may comprise 1-30 wt% X and 0-40 wt% Y. E may be an ethylene monomer, X may be an α,β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid comonomer or ester thereof having 3-8 carbons, and Y may be an alkyl acrylate or dicarboxylic acid comonomer. At least a portion of the carboxyl groups of X and optionally Y may be neutralized with a metal cation. The ionomer may have a melt index (I2) value (ASTM D1238, 190° C., 2.16 kg load) of 1-30 g / 10 min. The silane crosslinker may have the formula Z((CH2)aSi(OR)b)c. Z may be a monofunctional reactive group. R may be an alkyl group having 1-4 carbon atoms or a hydrogen atom, a may be 1-4, b may be 3, and c may be 1-2.

[0006] Additional features and advantages of the embodiments will be set forth in the detailed description which follows, and in part will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from that description, or will be recognized by practice of the embodiments described herein, including the detailed description which follows, the claims, and the accompanying drawings.

[0007] It is to be understood that both the foregoing and the following descriptions are intended to describe various embodiments and provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the claimed subject matter. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the various embodiments, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] The following detailed description of certain embodiments of the present disclosure can be best understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, in which like structure is indicated with like reference numerals and in which: [Figure 1] 1 is a visual depiction of the heat deflection performance of several embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE Embodiments of the present disclosure address the need for polymer compositions with improved mechanical properties at high temperatures. The improved polymer compositions include E / X / Y polymers, where E is ethylene, X is an α,β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid comonomer or ester thereof having 3 to 8 carbons, and Y is an alkyl acrylate or dicarboxylic acid comonomer.

[0010] definition As used herein, the terms "comprising", "including", "having" and their derivatives are not intended to exclude the presence of any additional components, steps, or procedures, whether they are specifically disclosed or not. For the avoidance of any doubt, all compositions claimed through the use of the term "comprising" may include any additional additives, adjuvants, or compounds, whether polymeric or otherwise, unless otherwise stated to the contrary. In contrast, the term "consisting essentially of" excludes from the scope of any succeeding description any other components, steps, or procedures, except those that are not essential to operability. The term "consisting of" excludes any components, steps, or procedures not specifically delineated or listed.

[0011] As used herein, the term "ionomer" refers to a polymeric compound that has at least some ionic groups, ionizable groups, or both.

[0012] The term "polymer" refers to a polymeric compound prepared by polymerizing monomers (whether of the same or different types). Thus, the generic term polymer encompasses the terms "homopolymer" and "copolymer." The term "homopolymer" refers to a polymer prepared from only one monomer, and the term "copolymer" refers to a polymer prepared from two or more different monomers, which for purposes of this disclosure may include "terpolymer" and "interpolymer." Trace amounts of impurities (e.g., catalyst residues) may be incorporated in and / or within the polymer. The polymer may be a single polymer or a polymer blend.

[0013] "Polyethylene" or "ethylene-based polymer" shall mean a polymer containing more than 50 mole percent units derived from ethylene monomers. This includes ethylene-based homopolymers or copolymers (meaning that the units are derived from two or more comonomers). Common forms of ethylene-based polymers known in the art include, but are not limited to, low density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), ultra low density polyethylene (ULDPE), very low density polyethylene (VLDPE), single-site catalyzed linear low density polyethylene (m-LLDPE), including both linear and substantially linear low density resins, medium density polyethylene (MDPE), and high density polyethylene (HDPE).

[0014] As used herein, min. / mins. means minutes, hr. / hrs. means hours, sec. means seconds, mol. means mole, mol.% means mole percent, and wt.% means weight percent.

[0015] Embodiment SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to polymer compositions comprising the crosslinked reaction product of an ionomer and a silane crosslinker.

[0016] The polymer composition may comprise 50-99.5% by weight of an ionomer and 0.5-20% by weight of a silane crosslinker. For example, the polymer composition may include 50-99.5 wt%, 60-99.5 wt%, 70-99.5 wt%, 80-99.5 wt%, 90-99.5 wt%, 95-99.5 wt%, 50-99 wt%, 50-95 wt%, 50-90 wt%, 50-80 wt%, 50-70 wt%, 60-95 wt%, 70-90 wt%, or any combination thereof, of an ionomer and 0.5-20 wt%, 1-20 wt%, 5-20 wt%, 10-20 wt%, 0.5-15 wt%, 0.5-10 wt%, 0.5-5 wt%, 0.5-2 wt%, 1-19 wt%, 5-15 wt%, or any combination thereof, of a silane crosslinker. It is further contemplated that in addition to the crosslinked reaction product of the ionomer and the silane crosslinker, the polymer composition may include additional components, such as polymers, ionomers, additives, and the like.

[0017] Ionomers may be E / X / Y polymers, where E may be an ethylene monomer, X may be an α,β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid comonomer, and Y may be an alkyl acrylate or dicarboxylic acid comonomer. One possible example of an ionomer is shown in Structure 1.

[0018] Structure 1

[0019] [ka]

[0020] The ionomer may comprise 30-99% by weight of ethylene monomer. For example, the ionomer may comprise 40-99%, 50-99%, 60-99%, 70-99%, 80-99%, 90-99%, 95-99%, 97-99%, 40-95%, 50-95%, 60-95%, 70-95%, 80-95%, 90-95%, 50-90%, 60-80%, or any combination thereof. In another embodiment, the ionomer may comprise greater than 50% by weight of ethylene monomer.

[0021] X may be an α,β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid comonomer having 3 to 8 carbons, or an ester thereof. For example, X may contain 3 to 7, 3 to 6, 3 to 5, 3 to 4, 4 to 8, 4 to 7, 4 to 6, 4 to 5, 5 to 8, 5 to 7, 5 to 6, 6 to 8, 6 to 7, or 7 to 8 carbon atoms. According to certain embodiments, X may be acrylic acid or methacrylic acid.

[0022] The ionomer can include 1-30% by weight of X. For example, the ionomer can include 1-25%, 1-20%, 1-10%, 1-6%, 1-5%, 2-30%, 2-20%, 2-10%, 5-30%, 5-20%, 10-30%, 10-20%, 20-30% by weight, or any combination thereof.

[0023] Y may be an alkyl acrylate or a dicarboxylic acid comonomer. The alkyl acrylate may be, by way of example and not limitation, ethyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate, iso-butyl acrylate, or a combination thereof. In various embodiments, the alkyl acrylate has an alkyl group having 1 to 8 carbons. This is referred to as a C2-C8-alkyl acrylate. The dicarboxylic acid comonomer may include maleic acid monoethyl ester (MAME), maleic anhydride monopropyl ester, maleic anhydride monoethyl ester, maleic anhydride monobutyl ester, or combinations thereof, and C1-C4-alkyl half esters of these acids, and anhydrides of these acids, including maleic anhydride, maleic anhydride monomethyl ester, maleic anhydride monoethyl ester, and itaconic anhydride.

[0024] The ionomer may comprise 0-40 wt% Y. For example, the ionomer may comprise 0-35 wt%, 0-30 wt%, 0-25 wt%, 0-20 wt%, 0-10 wt%, 0-5 wt%, 0-1 wt%, 0-0.1 wt%, 0.1 wt%-40 wt%, 1-40 wt%, 1-30 wt%, 1-20 wt%, 1-10 wt%, 1-5 wt%, 5-40 wt%, 5-30 wt%, 5-20 wt%, 5-10 wt%, or any combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the ionomer may not comprise any Y at all.

[0025] At least a portion of the carboxyl groups of X may be neutralized with a metal cation, for example, at least 1, at least 2, at least 3, 1 to 4, 1 to 3, 1 to 2, all but one, or all of the carboxyl groups of X may be neutralized with a metal cation.

[0026] At least a portion of the carboxyl groups of Y may be neutralized with a metal cation, for example, at least 1, at least 2, at least 3, 1 to 4, 1 to 3, 1 to 2, all but one, or all of the carboxyl groups of Y may be neutralized with a metal cation.

[0027] The metal cation may include any metal cation. For example, the metal cation may include Na, Zn, Cu, Ca, Mg, or a combination thereof. Without being bound by theory, it is believed that neutralizing the carboxyl group of the comonomer may reduce the reactivity of the comonomer. This reduction in reactivity is believed to result in improved final properties such as gelation, melt strength, and opacity.

[0028] The ionomers may have a melt index (I2) value (measured by ASTM D1238 at 190° C. under a load of 2.16 kg) of 1 to 30 g / 10 min. For example, the ionomers may have a melt flow index of 1 to 25 g / 10 min, 1 to 20 g / 10 min, 1 to 15 g / 10 min, 1 to 10 g / 10 min, 1 to 5 g / 10 min, 5 to 30 g / 10 min, 10 to 30 g / 10 min, 15 to 30 g / 10 min, 20 to 30 g / 10 min, 25 to 30 g / 10 min, 5 to 25 g / 10 min, 10 to 20 g / 10 min, or any combination thereof.

[0029] The ionomer may be electrically conductive. For example, the ionomer may have a conductivity of at least 0.00001 S m -1 , 0.0001 S m -1 , 0.001 S m -1 , 0.01 S m -1 , 0.1 S m -1 , 1.0 S m -1 , or even 10.0 S m -1 The electrical conductivity may be

[0030] Ionomers are capable of conducting ions. For example, ionomers have a conductivity of at least 0.00001 S cm -1 , 0.0001 S cm -1, 0.001 S cm -1 , 0.01 S cm -1 , 0.1 S cm -1 , 1.0 S cm -1 , or even 10.0 S cm -1 The ionic conductivity may be

[0031] The ionomer may have a density of 0.950-0.980 g / cc. For example, the ionomer may have a density of 0.950-0.970 g / cc, 0.950-0.960 g / cc, 0.960-0.980 g / cc, 0.960-0.970 g / cc, 0.970-0.980 g / cc, or any combination thereof.

[0032] The ionomers can be crosslinked with a silane crosslinker to form a polymeric composition. The silane crosslinker may have the formula Z((CH2)aSi(OR)b)c, where Z is a monofunctional reactive group, a may be 1-4, b may be 3, and c may be 1-2.

[0033] The silane crosslinker may include a monofunctional reactive group, Z. As used herein, a monofunctional reactive group may refer to any group that, when incorporated into a polymer, forms a single bond with a repeat unit of that monomer. For example, Z may include a secondary amine group (-NH) or an isocyanate group (-N=C=O).

[0034] R may be an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms or a hydrogen atom. For example, R may be an alkyl group having 1 to 2, 1 to 3, or 2 to 4 carbon atoms.

[0035] Structure 2 shows a silane crosslinker of the present disclosure, where R is an alkyl group having 1 carbon atom, a is 3, b is 3, c is 1, and Z is a cyano group.

[0036] Structure 2

[0037] [ka]

[0038] Structure 3 shows a silane crosslinker of the present disclosure, where R is an alkyl group having 1 carbon atom, a is 3, c is 2, and Z is a secondary amine group.

[0039] Structure 3

[0040] [ka]

[0041] The blends may further include minor amounts of additives including nanofillers, plasticizers, stabilizers including viscosity stabilizers, hydrolysis stabilizers, primary and secondary antioxidants, UV absorbers, antistatic agents, dyes, pigments, or other colorants, inorganic fillers, flame retardants, lubricants, reinforcing agents such as glass fibers and flakes, synthetic (e.g., aramid) fibers or pulps, foaming or expanding agents, processing aids, slip additives, antiblocking agents such as silica or talc, release agents, tackifying resins, or combinations of two or more thereof. Inorganic fillers such as calcium carbonate may also be incorporated into the blends.

[0042] These additives may be present in the blend in amounts ranging from 0.01 to 40%, 0.01 to 25%, 0.01 to 15%, 0.01 to 10%, or 0.01 to 5% by weight. The incorporation of the additives may be carried out by any known process, for example, by dry blending, extrusion of a mixture of the various components, conventional masterbatch techniques, etc.

[0043] Ionomers can be prepared by standard free radical copolymerization techniques using high pressure and operating continuously. Monomers are fed to the reaction mixture in a ratio related to the activity of the monomers and the amount desired to be incorporated. In this way, a uniform, approximately random distribution of monomer units along the chain is achieved. Unreacted monomers can also be recycled. Additional information regarding the preparation of ethylene acid copolymers containing softening monomers can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,264,272 and 4,766,174, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0044] A method of making the polymer composition of the present disclosure may include immersing the ionomer in a silane crosslinker to crosslink the ionomer with the silane crosslinker.

[0045] The ionomer may be immersed in the silane crosslinker at a temperature of from 30° C. to 100° C., for example, from 40° C. to 80° C., from 40° C. to 60° C., from 50° C. to 80° C., or any combination thereof.

[0046] The ionomer may be immersed in the silane crosslinker for at least 1 hour, such as at least 2 hours, at least 4 hours, at least 8 hours, at least 16 hours, at least 24 hours, or any combination thereof.

[0047] According to some embodiments, the polymer composition may further comprise a moisture cure catalyst. The moisture cure catalyst may include, but is not limited to, a zirconium compound, a titanium compound, a zinc compound, or a combination thereof. The zirconium compound may include zirconium octoate, zirconium acetate, or both. The titanium compound may include titanium (IV) butoxide. The zinc compound may include zinc octoate, zinc acetate, or both. The polymer composition may include 0.01-1 wt%, 0.01-0.8 wt%, 0.05-1 wt%, 0.05-0.6 wt%, 0.1-1 wt%, 0.1-0.8 wt%, 0.1-0.6 wt%, 0.1-0.4 wt%, or any combination thereof, of the moisture cure catalyst.

[0048] According to some embodiments, the polymer composition may include a nanofiller. The nanofiller may include a filler that measures one of three dimensions less than 100 nm. For example, the nanofiller may include, but is not limited to, silica, borate nitride, zinc oxide, aluminum oxide, and titanium dioxide. The particle size of the filler may be 10-300 nanometers. For example, the particle size of the nanofiller may be 10 nm-100 nm, 20 nm-75 nm, or 20 nm-50 nm. When the polymer composition includes a nanofiller, the polymer composition may include 0.1-10 wt%, 1-10 wt%, 5-10 wt%, 0.1-8 wt%, 0.1-5 wt%, 0.1-3 wt%, 0.1-1 wt%, 1-9 wt%, 2-8 wt%, 4-6 wt%, or any combination thereof.

[0049] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an injection molded article may include the polymer composition of the present disclosure.

[0050] Test Method Vicat softening point The Vicat softening point is the temperature at which a flat-tipped needle penetrates a test specimen to a depth of 1 mm under a specific load. The Vicat softening point was measured according to ISO 306:2013. In general, the test procedure was as follows: A flat specimen with a surface of 10 mm x 10 mm and a thickness of either 3 mm or 6 mm was placed in the testing machine. A load of 10 N was applied to the specimen through the needle. The setup was placed in an oil bath and heated at a rate of 120°C / hr until the needle penetrated the specimen 1 mm.

[0051] density Density is measured in grams / cm according to ASTM D792. 3 (g / cm 3 ) is expressed as

[0052] Melt Index (I2) Melt index is measured according to ASTM D 1238-10, Method B, at 190 degrees Celsius and 2.16 kg and is expressed as grams dissolved per 10 minutes (g / 10 min).

[0053] DSC method Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is used to study the melting and crystallization of semicrystalline polymers. The general principles of DSC measurements and the application of DSC to the semicrystalline polymers under study are described in standard textbooks (e.g., E A Turi, ed., Thermal Characterization of Polymeric Materials, Academic Press, 1981).

[0054] In preparation for Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) testing, the samples in pellet form were first placed into a 1 inch diameter, 0.13 mm thick chase and compression molded into a film at 190°C for approximately 10 seconds under 25,000 lbs of pressure. The resulting film was then cooled to room temperature. The film was then punched into a punch press to extract a disk that fit into the DSC test pan (Aluminum Tzero). The disk was weighed (note: sample weight is approximately 5-6 mg), placed into an aluminum Tzero pan, sealed, and then inserted into the DSC test chamber.

[0055] DSC tests were performed using a heat-cool-heat cycle according to ASTM standard D3418. First, the sample was equilibrated at 180°C and held isothermal for 5 minutes to remove thermal and process history. The sample was then quenched to -40°C at a rate of 10°C / min and held isothermal again for 5 minutes during the cooling cycle. Finally, the sample was heated to 150°C at a rate of 10°C / min for the second heating cycle. For data analysis, the melting temperature and melting enthalpy were extracted from the second heating curve and the crystallization enthalpy was obtained from the cooling curve. The melting and crystallization enthalpies were obtained by integrating the DSC thermogram from -20°C to the end of melting and crystallization, respectively. Tests were performed using a TA Instruments Q2000 and Discovery DSC, and data analysis was performed via TA Instruments Universal Analysis and TRIOS software packages.

[0056] Storage modulus or DMTA (Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analyzer) according to ISO standard 4664-1 Storage modulus is a measure of the amount of energy stored when a sample is strained. Storage modulus was measured according to ISO 4664-1. To measure storage modulus, a compressed 6" x 0.5" x 0.125" bar is placed into an RSA-G2 (TA Instruments). The test temperature was set from 20°C to 150°C with a heating rate of 3°C / min. The angular frequency was set to 6.28 rad / s and the strain was set to 0.1%. The analyzer was then set to dynamic heating frequency: 6.28 rad / s, initial temperature: 20.0°C, final temperature: 150.0°C, and heating rate = 3.0°C / min. EXAMPLES

[0057] A series of comparative examples and inventive examples were prepared by combining the polymers in Table 1 with the silanes in Table 1.

[0058] [Table 1]

[0059] Sample preparation The ionomer pellets were soaked in the silane molecules in a sealed jar for 24 hours at 50° C. After soaking, the ionomer pellets were hot pressed at 180° C. for 30 minutes to form 10 mm×10 mm×6 mm bars.

[0060] As specifically specified, selected formulations were injection molded at approximately 240° C. to produce thinner plaques (3 mm thick) for heat resistance testing and clarity evaluation.

[0061] The resulting sample formulations are shown below in Table 2. CE refers to comparative examples and IE refers to examples of the invention.

[0062] [Table 2]

[0063] Then, as shown in Table 3, the transparency, Vicat softening point, TM1 * The samples were evaluated for DSC and storage modulus.

[0064] [Table 3]

[0065] A transparency of 5 is ideal, as seen in Table 3. Tm1 * (DSC) is the first melting peak in a differential scanning calorimetry ("DSC") curve. * DSC is understood to correspond to the melting temperature of secondary crystals between ion clusters.

[0066] As shown in Table 3, silanes bearing monoreactive groups such as secondary amine or isocyanate groups react with the residual carboxyl groups of polymer 1 to form ionomers (IE1-3) that show improved crosslinking and therefore improved physical properties compared to the comparative examples. Vicat softening point, Tm1 * Improvements can be seen in both DSC (melting point) and storage modulus.

[0067] Sample bars CE2-CE6 could not be tested for either Vicat softening point or storage modulus (DMTA) because the sample bars were not properly formed.

[0068] Comparative Examples CE2 and CE3 were prepared from silanes that did not have any additional reactive groups and were not suitable for use as they were deemed insufficiently reactive and resulted in excessive opacity.

[0069] Comparative Examples CE4, CE5, and CE6 were prepared from silanes with more reactive groups such as primary amine or epoxy groups. This resulted in opacity problems and processability problems that prevented their use. Processability problems included foaming during formulation and gelling during compounding. Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the opacity problems are due to a reactive compatibilizing effect.

[0070] The heat deflection performance of the examples of the present invention was tested by heating a 6" x 0.5" x 0.125" specimen using a three-point bend test. Specifically, the specimen was supported at both ends and a 500g weight was placed in the center of the specimen. The specimen was then heated to 100°C for 30 minutes. Now referring to FIG. 1, CE1 110 exhibited extreme deflection of about 30°, while IE4 120, IE3 130, and IE2 140 exhibited minimal deflection of less than 5°.

[0071] All documents cited herein, including any cross-referenced or related patents or applications, if any, and any patent application or patent to which this application claims priority or the benefit thereof, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, unless expressly excluded or otherwise limited. The citation of any document is not an admission that it is prior art with respect to any invention disclosed or claimed herein, or that it alone, or in any combination with any other reference, teaches, suggests, or discloses such invention. Furthermore, in the event that a meaning or definition of any term in this document conflicts with any meaning or definition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assigned to that term in this document shall control.

[0072] While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.

Claims

1. 1. A polymer composition comprising:

1. An ionomer comprising an E / X / Y polymer, the ionomer comprises 1 to 30 wt. % X and 0 to 40 wt. % Y; E is an ethylene monomer; X is an α,β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid comonomer having 3 to 8 carbons, or an ester thereof; Y is an alkyl acrylate or dicarboxylic acid comonomer; At least a portion of the carboxyl groups of X and optionally Y are neutralized with a metal cation, and the ionomer has a melt index (I ２ ) values ​​(measured by ASTM D1238 at 190°C under a 2.16 kg load); Formula Z((CH ２ ) ａ Si(OR) ｂ ) ｃ 1. A silane crosslinker having the formula: Z is a monofunctional reactive group; Z comprises a secondary amine group (—NH) or an isocyanate group (—N═C═O), R is an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms or a hydrogen atom, a is 1 to 4, b is 3, A polymer composition comprising a crosslinked reaction product with a silane crosslinker, wherein c is 1-2.

2. 10. The polymer composition of claim 1, wherein X is acrylic acid or methacrylic acid.

3. 10. The polymer composition of claim 1, wherein the metal cations comprise Na, Zn, Cu, Ca, Mg, or a combination thereof.

4. 2. The polymer composition of claim 1, wherein R is an alkyl group having 1 to 2 carbon atoms.

5. 10. The polymer composition of claim 1, wherein the ionomer comprises greater than 50% by weight of ethylene monomer.

6. 10. The polymer composition of claim 1, comprising 50 to 99.5 weight percent of said ionomer and 0.5 to 20 weight percent of said silane crosslinker.

7. The polymer composition of claim 1 further comprising a moisture cure catalyst.

8. 10. The polymer composition of claim 1, wherein the ionomer has a density of 0.950 to 0.980 g / cc.

9. An injection molded article comprising the polymer composition of any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A method for making the polymer composition of any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising the steps of: immersing an ionomer in a solution containing a silane crosslinker to crosslink said ionomer with said silane crosslinker.

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