Vitrimers are a new class of crosslinked polymeric materials that can be thermally processed in a viscous liquid state (through network rearrangements) without losing network integrity. This feature renders the materials processable like vitreous glass, without the need for moulds or precise temperature control. In this context, the vinylogous acyl exchange reaction has proven to be a robust, catalyst-free reaction that results in exceptional high-Tg vitrimer materials. The possibility to utilize the vinylogous urethane chemistry in PDMS was already proven, however, the obtained properties were still sub optimal. Here, the influence of the different vinylogous acyl exchange reactions was investigated as to have a better control on creep and on the processing conditions (Figure 1), followed by the investigation of fillers in order to improve the obtained mechanical properties. First, a model study was performed to investigate the influence of an additive on the rate of the exchange reaction. Secondly, vinylogous acyl containing crosslinked PDMS rubbers were synthesized. Different characterization methods such as tensile test, IR or rheology were used to study those networks’ mechanical properties and ability to undergo network rearrangements. The obtained results could be an important step towards the spreading of vitrimer-like properties throughout other known crosslinked materials.

Reprocessable rubbers from PDMS vitrimers

256th National Meeting (2018)

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