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 Tg 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.