A comparison of ultraviolet, thermal, and microwave polymerized acrylamide terminated polydimethylsiloxane

A novel oligomer was synthesized for the purpose of investigating the effects of ultraviolet, thermal, and microwave polymerization. The synthesis involved an anionic ring-opening equilibration reaction to produce poly(dimethylsiloxane) which was then endcapped with an acid chloride to result in a material which was linear, flexible, had a functionality of four, and a strong dipole moment. Acrylamide terminated poly(dimethylsiloxane) was the end product and was cured with ultraviolet radiation, thermal energy, and microwaves. Characterization of the cured materials demonstrated interesting findings. Microwave cured materials resulted in higher degrees of cure than thermal or ultraviolet cured samples, despite using the best match for the heating rate-sample temperature profiles for each cure process. Several characterization techniques were employed and the procedures and results may be useful for others interested in finding the most efficient cure mode for their material.