Cyclic-siloxanes

Anionic Polymerization of Cyclic Siloxanes. The anionic polymerization of cyclosiloxanes can be performed in the presence of a wide variety of strong bases such as hydroxides, alcoholates, or silanolates of alkaH metals (59,68). Commercially, the most important catalyst is potassium silanolate. The activity of the alkaH metal hydroxides increases in the foUowing sequence LiOH < NaOH < KOH < CsOH, which is also the order in which the degree of ionization of thein hydroxides increases (90). Another important class of catalysts is tetraalkyl ammonium, phosphonium hydroxides, and silanolates (91—93). These catalysts undergo thermal degradation when the polymer is heated above the temperature requited (typically >150°C) to decompose the catalyst, giving volatile products and the neutral, thermally stable polymer. 

During the aqueous hydrolysis of dichlorosilanes there is always a very important side reaction. It is the self-condensation of silanols which are formed initially during the hydrolysis. These reactions also give rise to the formation of cyclic siloxanes together with the linear oligomers or polymers (Reaction Scheme III). The amount of cyclic products usually depends on the hydrolysis conditions and the degree of the self-condensation attained as well as concentration considerations. 

In many cases, these cyclic siloxanes have to be removed from the system by distillation or fractionation, in order to obtain pure products. On the other hand, cyclic siloxanes where n = 3 and n = 4 are the two most important monomers used in the commercial production of various siloxane polymers or oligomers via the so-called equilibration or redistribution reactions which will be discussed in detail in Sect. 2.4. Therefore, in modern silicone technology, aqueous hydrolysis of chloro-silanes is usually employed for the preparation of cyclic siloxane monomers 122> more than for the direct synthesis of the (Si—X) functional oligomers. Equilibration reactions are the method of choice for the synthesis of functionally terminated siloxane oligomers. 

Although each of these cyclic siloxane monomers can be polymerized separately to synthesize the respective homopolymers, in practice they are primarily used to modify and further improve some specific properties of polydimethylsiloxanes. The properties that can be changed or modified by the variations in the siloxane backbone include the low temperature flexibility (glass transition temperature, crystallization and melting behavior), thermal, oxidation, and radiation stability, solubility characteristics and chemical reactivity. Table 9 summarizes the effect of various substituents on the physical properties of resulting siloxane homopolymers. The... 

D3 see Cyclic siloxanes D4 see Cyclic siloxanes D see Cyclic siloxanes Deactivation by electrophiles 155-157 —, mutual 166... 

Figure 2.6 Reagents used for the deactivation of silanol groups on glass surfaces. A - disilazanes, B > cyclic siloxanes, and C -silicon hydride polysiloxanes in which R is usually methyl, phenyl, 3,3,3-trifluoropropyl, 3-cyanopropyl, or some combination of these groups. The lover portion of the figure provides a view of the surface of fused silica with adsorbed water (D), fused silica surface after deactivation with a trimethylsilylating reagent (E), and fused silica surface after treatment with a silicon hydride polysiloxane (F).

Unsymmetrical hydroxydisiloxanes are formed by treatment of (ClMe2Si)20 with alkyllithium reagents followed by hydrolysis. Similar reactions may be carried out starting from ClMe2SiOSiMe2OSiMe2Cl, but the alkylations are less specific and cyclic siloxanes are formed in significant amounts in the hydrolysis step, Eq. (15) (66). The Si-0 bonds in the cyclic chlorosiloxane 7 are unaffected by KOH, so that the hydrolysis gives a 63% yield of 8 [Eq. (16)] (67). 

Cyclophosphazenes are a fascinating group of inorganic heterocyclic compounds whose chemistry is multi-faceted, well developed and reasonably well understood. They are closely related to the linear poly-phosphazenes this relationship is unlike any other existing between ring-polymer systems. Although cyclic siloxanes and polysiloxanes have a close interrelationship, the number and types of cyclophospha-zene derivatives that are known, together with their exact counterparts in polyphosphazenes, underscore the utility of cyclophosphazenes as models for the more complex polyphosphazenes. The literature on cyclophosphazenes has appeared earlier in the form of books (1,2), chapters of books (3-5), authoritative compilations of data (6,7), and several reviews (8-21). The current literature on this subject is reported annually in the Specialist Periodic Reports published by the Royal Society of chemistry (22). This review deals mostly with chlorocyclo-... 

The initiation of the cyclic siloxane monomers with a living polymeric lithium species such as polystyryl lithium leads to block copolymers, as outlined in Scheme 2, were also of interest. These styrenic-siloxane block copolymers were prepared with siloxane contents from 10 to 50 weight percent. 

When 1,2-bis(chlorodimethylsilyl)carborane 2 was treated with ammonia, an amminolysis reaction occurred to give the cyclic tetramethyldisilaazane 3. The ease with which this reaction occurs to form five-membered ring bears notice. Hydrolysis of 2 gives cyclic siloxane compound 4. Utilization of the same general... 

Polymers are formed via two general mechanisms, namely chain or step polymerisation, originally called addition and condensation, respectively, although some polymerisations can yield polymers by both routes (see Chapter 2). For example, ring opening of cyclic compounds (e.g., cyclic lactides and lactams, cyclic siloxanes) yield polymers either with added catalyst (chain) or by hydrolysis followed by condensation (step). Many polymers are made via vinyl polymerisation, e.g., PE, PP, PVC, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). It could be argued that the ethylenic double bond is a strained cyclic system. 

An important method of preparing cyclic siloxanes and aminosiloxanes involves metallation of functionalized silanols, aminosilanols, or siloxanols followed by treatment with appropriate halosilanes. Intra- and intermolecular ring closure reactions are possible [10]. 

Table 2. Rate constants k of the HClC>4-catalyzed reaction of methylsiloxanes with methanol and ethanol (cleavage of one M-D bond in linear and one D-D bond in cyclic siloxanes)...

The formation of a cyclic siloxane obtained by intramolecular hydrosilylation has been used to control the stereochemistry of a cross-coupling reaction (Equation (18)) 79... 

Scheme 4.25 Cyclic siloxane as a potential precursor to C15-C20 bond formation...

Silicone paints are formed by controlled hydrolysis and condensation of alkyl alkox-ysilanes, and may be encountered either alone or in formulations with other synthetic resins. The typical structural unit in the polymer chain is dimethyl siloxane, and pyrolysis of such resins takes place with random chain scission and the extended formation of stable cyclic fragments. In Figure 12.14 the pyrogram of a silicone resin is shown, with cyclic siloxane oligomers eluting at the shorter retention times, followed by the linear siloxane fragments. 

Denmark pursued intramolecular alkyne hydrosilylation in the context of generating stereodefined vinylsilanes for cross-coupling chemistry (Scheme 21). Cyclic siloxanes from platinum-catalyzed hydrosilylation were used in a coupling reaction, affording good yields with a variety of aryl iodides.84 The three steps are mutually compatible and can be carried out as a one-pot hydro-arylation of propargylic alcohols. The isomeric trans-exo-dig addition was also achieved. Despite the fact that many catalysts for terminal alkyne hydrosilylation react poorly with internal alkynes, the group found that ruthenium(n) chloride arene complexes—which provide complete selectivity for trans-... 

L-ascorbic acid and, 25 751 catalytic esterification of, 10 482 in cationic polymerization of cyclic siloxanes, 22 560 cellulose as, 11 266 a-chiral and homologated, 13 669 control methods for, 26 687-690 derived from halogen fluorides,... 

Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), 24 368, 391 Association phenomenon, in anionic polymerization of cyclic siloxanes, 22 559... 

Cationic polyelectrolytes, 20 469—472 Cationic polymerization, 19 835 20 409 living, 14 271-272 of cyclic siloxanes, 22 560 of higher olefin polymers, 20 425 Cationic polymers, 11 632 Cationic products, 9 193-194 Cationic PVA, 25 602... 

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