Improved Elastomers through Control of Network Chain-Length Distributions

Methods are described for obtaining elastomers of controlled network chain-length distributions by restricting the reactivity of the polymer chains to their ends, and then end linking these chains with a multi-functional reactant. The networks of this type that have proved to be of greatest interest consist of short chains end linked with long chains to yield a bimodal distribution of network chain lengths. These bimodal elastomers have unusually high extensibility for their values of the modulus and ultimate strength, and thus considerable toughness, even in the unfilled state. Most such elastomers have been prepared from chains of poly(dimethylsiloxane), by carrying out either a condensation reaction between hydroxyl-terminated chains and tetraethoxysilane, or an addition reaction between vinyl-terminated chains and a poly(methylhydrogen siloxane) oligomer. The material presented in this review discusses the preparation of such elastomers, the characterization of some of their properties, and the interpretation of some of these properties in terms of the molecular theories of rubber-like elasticity.