Despite the importance of crosslinked silicones in a myriad of applications and despite the fact that these materials were developed and well understood in the 1940s, silicones are neither generally understood by many chemical scientists today nor have they been a part of recent chemistry or materials science education.  The unique structure of PDMS, that is significantly different from that of carbon-based polymers, is the basis for many unusual properties, such as low glass transition temperature, low surface tension, and high thermal stability.  Using some 'forgotten magic', we have developed silicone network materials with unusual properties and useful applications.  An extremely cross-linked, unfilled silicone featuring a molecularly smooth surface, high modulus, high thermal stability, and UV/Vis transparency has been developed and used as a replica material for the fabrication of sub-10nm length scale patterns via nanoimprint lithography and capillary force lithography.  Utilizing an anionic siloxane equilibration mechanism, 'living' silicone networks were developed that exhibit 'self-healing' properties.

Preparation, characterization, and applications of novel siloxane networks

244th National Meeting (2012)

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