Thermoplastic and thermosetting properties of polyphenylsilsesquioxane particles prepared by two-step acid-base catalyzed sol-gel process

Polyphenylsilsesquioxane (PhSiO3/2) particles were synthesized by a two-step acid-base catalyzed sol-gel process, in which phenyltriethoxysilane used as a starting alkoxide was hydrolyzed and condensed in the first step under two different acid-catalyzed conditions. The PhSiO3/2 particles prepared under an acid-catalyzed process without using a solvent were thermally hardened after the first heating up to 200 degrees C. In contrast, the PhSiO3/2 particles prepared under an acid-catalyzed process with ethanol as a solvent were thermally softened with the repeated heating processes up to 200 degrees C. From the gel permeation chromatography measurements, it was found that the average molecular weight of the particles prepared with the use of ethanol was decreased in comparison with that of the particles prepared without using ethanol. The addition of ethanol in the sols during hydrolysis and condensation reaction under the acid-catalyzed process caused the decrease in the average molecular weight, which should result in the changes of thermal property of PhSiO3/2 particles from thermosetting to thermoplastic.