Synthesis of novel soluble poly(imide-siloxane)s via hydrosilylation: Characterization and structure property behaviour

A series of novel poly(imide-siloxane)s (PIS) were synthesized by the grafting of amine terminated soluble imides to the siloxane backbone. The amine terminated imides were synthesized by choosing suitable anhydrides and amines to get the imides that are soluble in polar and non-polar solvents. The imides were grafted to the siloxane backbone by the epoxy group cleavage. All the polymers were obtained in quantitative yields with the inherent viscosities ranging from 0.22 to 1.2 dL g⁻¹. The polymers were characterized by FT-IR, ¹H and ¹³C NMR, and were examined for their thermal properties. The polymers were found to be stable up to a temperature 350 °C. The DSC results showed a single glass transition in the negative temperature, whereas the DTA revealed another glass transition in the positive end for some of the polymers showing phase separation. Polymer films were prepared employing the coupling reaction between PIS and the polydimethylsiloxane matrix by varying the amount of incorporation of PIS in the films. The polymer films had a tensile strength of 35-82 MPa with a percentage elongation of 86-271%. The contribution of polar and dispersion component towards the total surface energy was studied by the contact angle measurement and a reduction in surface tension of 14 mN m⁻¹ was achieved with the fluorine containing PIS membrane.