Copolymerization of vinyl siloxanes with organic vinyl monomers

Abstract

Abstract A series of simple vinyl siloxanes containing monofunctional, difunctional, and trifunctional silicon atoms has been copolymerized with various organic vinyl monomers. It is now possible to predict the behavior of vinyl siloxanes of complex structure in copolymerization reactions with these vinyl monomers. The structure of the vinyl siloxane does not appreciably affect the total rate of copolymerization or its reactivity toward a given organic vinyl monomer. Vinyl siloxane monomers have comparable reactivities to monomers such as vinyl acetate, vinyl chloride, and perfluorovinyl chloride but are less reactive than acrylonitrile, styrene, and N ‐vinylpyrrolidone. In copolymerization reactions involving vinyl siloxanes the total polymerization rate and the molecular weight of the copolymers are markedly affected by the amount of vinyl siloxanes in the monomer mixture. An increase in the percentage of vinyl siloxane in the monomer mixture results in a decreased polymerization rate and copolymers having lower molecular weights.