Fast Curable Polysiloxane-Silphenylene Hybrimer with High Transparency and Refractive Index for Optical Applications

In this study, a fast curable polysiloxane-silphenylene hybrimer (PSH) was synthesized by the nonhydrolytic sol-gel condensation of phenyl-vinyl-oligosiloxane (PVO) and tris(dimethylhydrosilyl)benzene (TDMSB) under a Pt catalyst to investigate its optical property and thermal stability. The combination of PVO and tripod-type TDMSB results in a hybrimer with a fast curing time of 30 min. The PSH exhibited a high refractive index of 1.60, 1.59, and 1.58 at 450, 520, and 635 nm, respectively. High transmittance of 97% at 450 nm was obtained. The PSH exhibited a very high transmittance of 97% before thermal aging. The high optical transmittance of the PSH was only slightly decreased by 0.5% of the transmittance at 180 °C for 72 h after thermal aging, and high transparency was maintained almost constant even after 72 h of high-temperature treatment.