Synthesis and characterization of a soluble ladderlike polysilsesquioxane containing reactive ester groups

Abstract

A novel soluble ladderlike polysilsesquioxane containing reactive ester groups (Ester-T) was synthesized for the first time by stepwise coupling polymerization including preammonolysis, controlled hydrolysis and polycondensation. The monomer, 3-trichlorosilylpropoxy 4-acetoxybenzoate (M), was synthesized by hydrosilylation of allyloxy 4-acetoxybenzoate with trichlorosilane in the presence of dicyclopentadienylplatinum (II) chloride (Cp2PtCl2) catalyst. Combination of FTIR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, 29Si-NMR, XRD, DSC, TGA and VPO methods was used to demonstrate that the polymer obtained has an ordered ladderlike structure. The synthesized Ester-T may have promising applications as a precursor of advanced functional polymers.