Rheologica Acta, Vol.50, No.11-12, 917-924, 2011
Viscoelastic properties of a silicone resin during crosslinking
Viscoelastic properties of a silicone resin crosslinked at various extents were characterised by means of rheology. The influence of temperature on the viscoelastic properties of the material as-delivered and in a state pre-crosslinked approximately to the gel point has been investigated by dynamic-mechanical measurements. While the glass transition temperature is increased by the crosslinking, no changes of the free volume fraction at T (g) and its thermal expansion coefficient were observed. Taking the different glass transition temperatures into account, it could be shown that the corresponding WLF-parameters are the same. The molar mass and, hence, the viscosity of the material can be increased by a heat treatment. The dependence of the zero shear-rate viscosity on the weight average molar mass indicates that the existence of entanglements of the polymer molecules is not very probable.