Physical Crosslinking in Statistical and Telechelic Carboxyl-Containing Polydimethylsiloxanes

A number of polydimethylsiloxanes containing different amounts of 10-carboxydecyl modifying units arranged along the chain and at chain ends are synthesized. The copolymers are characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance, gel permeation chromatography, and differential scanning calorimetry. In modified siloxanes, an increase in temperature leads to the appearance of a spatial network due to the formation of physical network junctions. The effect of temperature, molecular weight of polymers, number of modifying substituents, and their location on the rheological properties of the copolymers and networks based on them is revealed.