Cuprous iodide-catalyzed
azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC)
offered an easy route for the synthesis of organic–inorganic
comb polymer networks with a short stem composed of novolac and arms
made of lightly cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). This
was achieved by the click reaction between novolac propargyl ether
(NPE) and azide telehelic PDMS (PDMS-AZ) in a single step at near-ambient
conditions. The precursors were absolutely characterized. The reaction,
monitored by differential scanning calorimetry and rheometry, implied
the cross-linking occurring at relatively low temperatures. The gelation
occurred at a lower conversion than predicted by the Flory–Rehner
equation. The reaction was facilitated by polar solvents. Dynamic
mechanical analysis (DMA) implied biphasic behavior for the cross-linked
polymer, the transitions of the soft and hard segments appearing at
−110 and 26 °C, respectively. The calculated cross-link
densities tallied well with the expected network structure. Solvents
influenced the reorganization of the soft and hard segments as reflected
in the water contact angle of these resins cast from different solvents.
The morphological analyses by scanning electron microscopy and atomic
force microscopy substantiated these findings.