Synthesis of the acetylacetone telechelate of polydimethylsiloxane and its gelation with Cr(III) and Fe(III)

Abstract

AbstractThe batch synthesis of acetylacetone end‐capped polydimethylsiloxane is described. Efforts to end‐link the telechelic polymer with several simple metal salts yielded poorly gelled systems, except for the cases where FeCl3 and CrCl3 · 3THF were used. With these salts, low but nonetheless appreciable, gel fractions of 45 and 40%, respectively, were obtained. The difficulty experienced in obtaining high gel fractions is traced to incomplete ligand exchange reactions in low polarity media.