| Abstract: | Hyperbranched polycarbosilanes were synthesized by hydrosilylation addition of methyldivinylsilane, methyldiallylsilane, triallylsilane, and methyldiundecenylsilane. Molecular mass distributions of the hyperbranched polymers were investigated upon systematic variation of the reaction conditions. The formation of hyperbranched polycarbosilanes depended strongly on the reaction conditions and the monomer structure. Although cyclization reactions impeded the build up of molecular weight, crosslinking due to rearrangement reactions caused the formation of multimodal molecular weight distributions and gelation. Crosslinking could be avoided by the appropriate choice of the reaction conditions. In the case of methyldiundecenylsilane, where the distance between the double bond and silicon atom essentially was enlarged, high molecular weight polymers with remarkably narrow molecular weight distributions were obtained; the molecular mass could be controlled by subsequent addition of further monomer. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 741–751, 2000 |
