CROSS-LINKING STUDY OF POLYETHERS CONTAINING PENDENT DOUBLE-BONDS

This article studies the crosslinking reactions of some polyethers con taining double bonds on the side chains. Thermal crosslinking takes pl ace in all cases, but is overlapped by the degradation process. So, a catalyst has to be used to obtain the cured material and avoid degrada tion. The best initiator appears to be dicumyl peroxide and the maximu m crosslinking degree is achieved only with 5% (w/w). Thermogravimetri c analyses are used to test the quality of the cured materials. IR spe ctroscopy shows that crosslinking actually takes place by polymerizing pendent double bonds. Furthermore, activation energies for thermal an d radical initiated crosslinking are determined by means of dynamic DS C studies. (C) 1995 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.