Vitrimers are a new class of polymer networks defined by their dynamic crosslinks, which when activated, undergo associative exchange reactions, enabling vitrimers to be reprocessed unlike traditional thermosets. To attempt to address the relatively slow kinetics of reprocessing in many vitrimer systems, we have investigated the exchange of silyl ethers and hydroxyl groups as a new reaction for reprocessing of vitrimers. We show that small molecule silyl ethers selectively react with free alcohols in an S<sub>N</sub>2-like reaction at mild temperatures in the presence of a catalyst. We synthesized silyl ether-based trifunctional (meth)acrylate crosslinkers to incorporate these functional groups into cross-linked polymer architectures. Copolymerization of these cross-linkers with 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate and other methacrylates gives potential vitrimers with tunable concentrations of functional groups and mechanical properties. We have synthesized a variety of polymers with tunable properties by adjusting the feed ratios of our monomers. We will present preliminary investigation of the dynamics of these materials as studied via stress relaxation analysis and discuss how these results give insight into the application of silyl ether exchange as a dynamic exchange reaction for vitrimers.

Silyl ether-hydroxyl exchange in vitrimer systems

255th National Meeting (2018)

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