Polysiloxanes modified with aromatic diamines interconnecting with silica network
Polydimethylsiloxane-α,ω-diols with different contents of pendant chloromethyl groups were reacted with an aromatic diamine (3,3′-dimethoxybenzidine) when cross-linking occurred. The reactions were performed in silica — generating sol— gel system; so two interconnected networks (silica and cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane) were formed. The resulting structures were investigated by FT-IR and 1H-NMR spectroscopies. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to emphasize the thermal transitions of the resulted materials and the water sorption capacity was investigated by dynamic vapor sorption, the obtained values being influenced by the amount of polar groups. Atomic force microscopy was used to evaluate the morphology and surface topography in dry as well as in swollen state in water and heptane.