Study of crosslinking of polyphosphazene with allyl pendant groups initiated by benzoyl peroxide

A selected polyorganophosphazene containing three substituents: phenoxy group, 2-allylphenoxy group, and ethoxy group, had been thermally cross-linked. The polymer can be crosslinked at 85°C which was lower than the general reported operation temperature. The transformation of chemical structure was analyzed by FTIR technique. It was found that oxidization caused the formation of peroxides, ether and ester during crosslinking. The effect of different conditions including time, temperature, and initiator on properties of crosslinked polymer had been studied. The change of properties was well consistent with the change of chemical structure including vinyl and peroxide. Detailed cross-linking mechanisms were proposed based on FTIR spectra by monitoring the possible association sites. It was suggested that the initiation reaction preferentially occurred at methylene but not vinyl, and major linkages between polymer chains were ether and peroxide bonds. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009