A chemical blowing agent for foaming a thermoplastic polymer, for example PVC plastisol or a polymer resin in an extrusion process, said chemical blowing agent comprising a functionalized particulate bicarbonate containing at least one additive, preferably excluding an exothermic blowing agent. The additive may be selected from the group consisting of polymers; inorganic salts; oils; fats; resin acids, any derivative thereof, and salts thereof; amino acids; fatty acids; carboxylic or polycarboxylic acids, soaps; waxes; in derivatives thereof (such as esters); salts thereof; or any combinations thereof. The particulate bicarbonate may be functionalized by spray-drying, coating, extrusion or co-grinding with at least one additive. The functionalized particulate bicarbonate may comprise 50 wt % to less than 100 wt % of the bicarbonate component, and 0.02-50 wt % of the additive. A foamable polymer composition comprising such chemical blowing agent. A process for manufacturing a foamed polymer, such as foamed PVC, comprising shaping and heating the foamable polymer composition, and a foamed polymer obtained by such process.

Described herein is a coating composition including one or more (meth)acrylic polymers including moieties of formula (I)

*—C(═O)—O—CH.sub.2—Si(R.sup.a).sub.3−x(R.sup.b).sub.x  (I)

where R.sup.a=methoxy; R.sup.b=an alkyl group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms or an alkoxy group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms; x is 0 or 1; and the asterisk * denotes the position at which the moiety of formula (I) is attached to the polymeric backbone of the (meth)acrylic polymer; further containing one or more catalysts of formula (II)

H.sub.3C—C(R.sup.c)(R.sup.d)—C(═O)—O.sup.−M.sup.+  (II)

where R.sup.c and R.sup.d=alkyl groups containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms, with the proviso that the sum of the number of carbon atoms in residues R.sup.c and R.sup.d ranges from 2 to 7, and M=for Li, K or Na, and further containing one or more aprotic organic solvents.

A chemical blowing agent for foaming a thermoplastic polymer, for example PVC plastisol or a polymer resin in an extrusion process, comprising a functionalized particulate bicarbonate containing at least one additive, preferably excluding an exothermic blowing agent. The additive may be selected from the group consisting of polymers; inorganic salts; oils; fats; resin acids, any derivative thereof, and salts thereof; amino acids; fatty acids; carboxylic or polycarboxylic acids, soaps; waxes; derivatives thereof; salts thereof; or any combinations thereof. The particulate bicarbonate may be functionalized by spray-drying, coating, extrusion or co-grinding with at least one additive. The functionalized particulate bicarbonate may comprise 50 wt % to less than 100 wt % of the bicarbonate component, and 0.02-50 wt % of the additive. A foamable polymer composition comprising such chemical blowing agent. A process for manufacturing a foamed polymer, such as foamed PVC, comprising shaping and heating the foamable polymer composition, and a foamed polymer obtained by such process.

Addition curable composition containing specific silicone resins containing aliphatically unsaturated groups and an organic compound containing unsaturated groups such as acrylate or methacrylate groups are suitable when used with fine and coarse fillers to produce artificial stone with both high hardness and high flexural strength.

The present invention relates to a waterborne dispersion comprising (A) amphiphilic block copolymer obtained with a controlled radical polymerization process and comprising at least blocks [A] and [B], whereby block [A] comprises ethylenically unsaturated monomer(s) bearing water-soluble and/or water-dispersible functional groups (monomer(s) (i)), and block [B] comprises ethylenically unsaturated monomer(s) different from monomer(s) (i) (monomer(s) (ii)); and (B) polymer P comprising ethylenically unsaturated monomer(s) different from (i) (monomer(s) (ii)), characterized in that the amount of block copolymer is higher than 1 and lower than 30 wt. %, based on the total weight of monomers used to prepare the block copolymer and polymer P; the acid value of the composition consisting of block copolymer and polymer P is higher than 1 and at most 35 mg KOH per g of the block copolymer-polymer P composition; the block copolymer has a calculated glass transition temperature of higher than 10° C. and lower than 250° C.; and polymer P comprises at least 20 wt. % (relative to the total monomer composition to prepare the polymer P) of a polymer fraction with calculated glass transition temperature higher than 10° C. and lower than 100° C.

Decorative films including on a substrate film sequentially a flexible resin layer and an independent dot-patterned hardcoat layer, and has an elongation percentage of 10% or greater is described. These decorative films may have scratch resistance and elongation properties.

The object of the present invention is to provide a decorative film excellent in moldability and tensile strength; and a method for producing a three-dimensionally molded article with a decorative film. The decorative film of the present invention is used for decorating a three-dimensionally molded article. It is a decorative film comprising at least a substrate film layer and a clear layer, wherein the clear layer is made of a fluorinated polymer comprising units based on a fluoroolefin, units based on a monomer having no crosslinkable group, which is at least one member selected from the group consisting of a vinyl ether, a vinyl ester, an allyl ether, an allyl ester and a (meth)acrylic acid ester, and units having a crosslinkable group; and the content of the units based on a fluoroolefin is from 20 to 70 mol % to all units which the fluorinated polymer comprises.

A fiber-reinforced molding material includes: as essential raw materials, a vinyl ester (A) which is a reaction product of an epoxy resin (a1) having an epoxy equivalent in the range of 180 to 500 and a (meth)acrylic acid (a2); an unsaturated monomer (B) having a flash point of 100° C. or higher; a thermoplastic resin (C); a polyisocyanate (D); a polymerization initiator (E); and carbon fibers (F) having a fiber length of 2.5 to 50 mm. The mass ratio ((A)/(B)) of the vinyl ester (A) to the unsaturated monomer (B) is in the range of 40/60 to 85/15. The molar ratio (NCO/OH) of the isocyanate group (NCO) of the polyisocyanate (D) to the hydroxy group (OH) of the vinyl ester (A) is in the range of 0.25 to 0.85.

A hardcoat composition includes one or more multifunctional (meth)acrylate monomers, and a nanoparticle mixture dispersed within the one or more multifunctional (meth)acrylate monomers. The nanoparticle mixture includes a first population of semi-reactive nanoparticles having an average particle diameter in a range from 5 nm to 60 nm, and a second population of non-reactive nanoparticles having an average particle diameter in a range from 5 nm to 60 nm.

To provide a molding material which uses, as essential raw materials, (A) an aromatic epoxy resin, (B) a curing agent for epoxy resins, and (C) a curing accelerator, and which has a ratio of transmittance at 910 cm.sup.−1 to transmittance at 1510 cm.sup.−1 (910 cm.sup.−1/1510 cm.sup.−1) in FT-IR ATR measurement in the range of 1 to 3. Since the molding material exhibits excellent productivity, moldability and the like, the molding material can be suitably used in automobile members, railway vehicle members, aerospace vehicle members, watercraft members, housing equipment members, sports members, light vehicle members, construction civil engineering members, and exteriors and structures of office automation equipment, etc.