Polymer stability, different species

Such a value for relative temperature index will be specific to a particular grade of a polymer, sometimes even to a specific colour. The difference between grades of a particular species of polymer can be substantial, depending both on the variation in the inherent stability of a material between differing manufacturing methods and also on the type and amount of additives used. It is possible to obtain from the Laboratories a Generic Temperature Index to cover a species of material but this will usually be considerably lower than for many of the individual grades within that species. 

A novel polysiloxane, containing the isocyanide group pendent to the backbone, has been synthesized. It is observed to react with the metal vapors of chromium, iron and nickel to afford binary metal complexes of the type M(CN-[P])n, where n = 6, 5, 4 respectively, in which the polymer-attached isocyanide group provides the stabilization for the metal center. The product obtained from the reaction with Fe was found to be photosensitive yielding the Fe2(CN-[P])q species and extensive cross-linking of the polymer. The Cr and Ni products were able to be oxidized on exposure of thin films to the air, or electrochemically in the presence of an electron relay. The availability of different oxidation states for the metals in these new materials gives hope that novel redox-active polymers may be accessible. 

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