RUBBER-REINFORCED POLYMERS OF MONOVINYLIDENE AROMATIC COMPOUNDS HAVING A UNIQUE BALANCE OF GLOSS AND PHYSICAL STRENGTH PROPERTIES AND A METHOD FOR THEIR PREPARATION

摘要

A rubber-reinforced polymer comprising a continuous matrix phase of a polymer derived from one or more polymerizable monovinylidene aromatic compounds and having discrete rubber particles dispersed throughout the polymer matrix wherein the discrete polymer particles have a shell/core morphology and a volume average particle size of from 0.1 to 0.25 mu m. These compositions exhibit an excellent balance of gloss and physical strength properties. Specifically, the polymer product exhibits a gloss of 80 percent or greater over a wide range of molding conditions and an impact strength of at least 2 to 3 times that of polystyrene.