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.
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