Effect of colloidal fillers on the cross-linking of a UV-curable polymer: Gel point rheology and the Winter-Chambon criterion

The effect of colloidal silica fillers on the cross-linking behavior of a model W-curable polymer system (thiol-ene) is studied using in situ rheology and real time FTIR spectroscopy. The validity of the Winter-Chambon criterion (convergence of the loss tangents at the gel point) is examined for the cross-linking of these filled polymers, some of which are strongly flocculated dispersions (physical gels) prior to chemical cross-linking. Two different types of colloidal silica particles are studied: one with octyl chains tethered to the surface and the other with methyl surface groups. The Winter-Chambon criterion is satisfied for all samples containing the methyl-terminated silica. However, the criterion breaks down for samples containing the octyl-modified silica, with the loss tangents not converging at any single point. This suggests the absence of a self-similar critical gel at the gel point in the latter case. Neither type of silica particles alters the mechanism of the cross-linking reaction, as revealed by FTIR spectroscopy, but they do retard the cross-linking kinetics. An alternate method is suggested for determining the chemical gel point of filled systems that fail to obey the Winter-Chambon criterion. This method involves monitoring the critical strain (limit of the linear viscoelastic region) at various UV exposure times. A dramatic increase is observed in the critical strain at the gel point, indicating a transition from weak, physical bonds to strong, covalent cross-links.