The thermally activated relaxation of poly(1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne) (PTMSP) samples of various cis-/trans-compositions (50–80% units of cis-configuration) in the presence of phenolic antioxidants of various structures was investigated. It was pointed out that polymers with a high content of cis-units exhibited greater thermal-oxidative stability due to the greater flexibility of the cis-enriched macrochains. The use of hindered phenols as antioxidants made it possible to prevent the process of thermally initiated oxidative degradation. At the same time, the most effective stabilizing agents were antioxidants with larger molecules such as Vulkanox BKF, Irganox 1010, and Irganox 1076. It was shown that the permeability coefficients of stabilized PTMSP during thermal treatment initially slightly decreased (by 20–30%), which, according to the X-ray diffraction data, was associated with an increase in the density of the macrochain packing, and during further heating remained practically unchanged. Note that for the cis-enriched samples, no signs of oxidation or decrease in the transport characteristics were observed during polymer heating for 240 h at 140 °C.
The effect of the stereoregularity of poly(1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne) [PTMSP] (cis-content from 50 to 90%) on physical aging was investigated by measurement of the gas permeability. Films from pure PTMSP as well as those with the addition of the antioxidant Irganox 1076 were exposed to the air. The permeability of pure PTMSP films increases with an increase in cis-stereoregularity and correlates with an increase in interchain distances (according to X-ray analysis). For pure PTMSP films, the most significant aging (up to 50% of permeability drop) was observed for polymers with mixed microstructure, and the slowest aging (10–30% of permeability drop) was observed for polymers with cis-regular structure. For PTMSP films with added Irganox 1076, some decrease in permeability with time is also observed. The addition of Irganox 1076 to PTMSP in mixed as well as cis-enriched configurations visibly slows down aging. In the case of cis-regular PTMSP with a slow aging rate, the introduction of an antioxidant does not provide any advantages. The high stability of cis-regular PTMSP demonstrates the possibility of obtaining more stable membrane materials with the highest equilibrium state of the polymer selective layer prepared by casting solution.
Homopolymerization of 1-(3,3,3-trifluoropropyldimethylsilyl)-1-propyne is investigated in the presence of catalysts based on tantalum (V) chloride and niobium (V) pentachloride with various cocatalysts. As a result of homopolymerization, an insoluble polymer is formed. It is established that the insolubility of the homopolymer is connected with the presence in the polymer of “pseudocrystalline” regions playing the role of physical links. Copolymerization of 1(3,3,3-trifluoropropyldimethylsilyl)-1-propyne and trimethylsilyl-1-propyne under the action of the TaCl5-Ph3Bi system is studied. The relative activity constants of monomers, whose ratio points to the formation tendency of copolymers enriched with trimethylsilyl-1-propyne at the early stages of polymerization, are estimated. It is shown that the structures and solubilities of the obtained copolymers depend on their compositions. Gas-transport and hydrophobic-hydrophilic properties for soluble samples are studied. Soluble copolymers have good film-forming properties, improved hydrophobicity, stability against hydrocarbons, and high levels of gas permeability: properties that make them promising materials for the separation of various liquids and gaseous water-organic media.
Using a NbCl5-based catalyst system, random copolymers of 1-(3,3,3-trifluoropropyldimethylsilyl)-1-propyne and 1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne are synthesized in a wide range of comonomer contents. The dep
Fluorinated copolymers with different compositions and geometric structures have been prepared from 1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne and its fluorinated containing analogue...