ABSTRACT
This paper details an efficient method to obtain Poly(hydrogenmethylsiloxane) (PHMS) free from low molecular weight impurities. High temperature, high vacuum distillation was used to remove the volatile components of commercially available PHMS to afford high molecular weight products with a PDI significantly lower than the commercial material. The native and distilled polymers were compared by characterization techniques including gas chromatography (GC), proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Financial support was provided by a NSF REU supplement to NSF CMS 96-10286. The author would like to acknowledge Jeffrey S. Moore, Eliot Fried, Joshua A. Orlicki, Larry J. Markoski, and Todd Emrick for their advice during this project.