| abstract |
Tetra(alkylene oxide)silicate polymers are obtained by reacting pentacoordinate and hexacoordinate silicon complexes with tetra(alkylene) glycol, generally in accordance with the following reaction, as represented by the hexacoordinate species: <IMAGE> +TR <IMAGE> The resulting polymers are represented by the following general formula: <IMAGE> (15) wherein R1 through R5 contain a carbon atom bonded directly to an oxygen atom of the above structure and are independently selected from the group consisting of <IMAGE> <IMAGE> with the proviso that at least three or R1 through R5 must be, <IMAGE> x is 0 or 1, each R6 is independently selected from H, OH, C1-6alkyl, O-C1-6alkyl, C2-6alkene, C6-12aryl, C1-6hydroxyalkyl, C1-6thioalkyl, C2-12alkoxyalkyl, C3-20 heteraromatic, and combinations thereof, wherein each R group may also contain other non-carbon elements such as Si, Sn, Ge, P, and the like; Y is monovalent, Z is multivalent eationic, preferably dicationic and n is from 2 to 10,000. Methods for producing such polymers starting with silica of silicon-containing complexes are disclosed. |