| abstract |
Known higher dialkyl dimethyl ammonium clays can be surprisingly used as thixotropic agents in reinforced thermoset resins containing a major proportion of an unsaturated polyester and a minor proportion of styrene type monomer by employing a novel pregel process. In this process, the quaternary ammonium clay is pregelled in the styrene and the resulting pregel is then mixed with the unsaturated polyester to produce the final gel which is usually combined with glass fiber as a reinforcing agent for the production of thermoplastics. The novel clay gel compositions of the present invention have surprisingly advantageous properties, compared to the presently used fumed silica gel compositions. |