Recyclable Polydimethylsiloxane Network Crosslinked by Dynamic Transesterification Reaction
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Updated: Feb 22, 2026

Designed for Molecular Recycling: A Lignin-Derived Semi-aromatic Biobased Polymer
Published on: November 30, 2020
Huan Zhang1,2, Chao Cai1,2, Wenxing Liu1,2
1Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
Abstract:
This article reports preparation of a crosslinked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) network via dynamic transesterification reaction between PDMS-diglycidyl ether and pripol 1017 with Zn(OAc)2 as the catalyst. The thermal dynamic nature of the network was investigated by the creep-recovery and stress-relaxation tests. The synthesized PDMS elastomer showed excellent solvent resistance even under high temperature, and could be reprocessed by hot pressing at 180 °C with the mechanical properties maintained after 10 cycles. Application of the PDMS elastomer in constructing micro-patterned stamps repeatedly has been demonstrated. The high plastic temperature and good solvent resistance distinguish the research from other reported thermoplastic PDMS elastomers and broaden the practical application areas.
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