Synthesis and Characterization of Crosslinked Polyacrylates Containing Cubane and Silyl Groups

Attaching the organosilyl groups to macromolecular chains of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) should lead to important modifications of polymer properties. t-$BuMe_{2}Si$ and cubane-l, 4-dicarboxylic acid (CDA) were covalently linked with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). The silyl-linked HEMA is abbreviated as TSMA, while cubane-l ,4-dicarboxylic acid (CDA) linked to two HEMA groups is the cross-linking agent (CA). Free radical cross-linking copolymerization of TSMA and HEMA with various ratios of CA as the cross-linking agent was carried out at 60-70$^{circ}C$. The compositions of the cross-linked, three-dimensional polymers were determined by FTIR spectroscopy. The glass transition temperature ($T_{g}$) of the network polymers was determined calorimetrically. The $T_{g}$ of the network polymer increased with increasing cross-linking degree.