Multiple polymerization – formation of hybrid materials consisting of two or more polymers from one monomer

Abstract

Hybrid materials consisting of three different components were synthesized by the polymerization of one heterotrifunctional monomer in just one reaction step using, at the most, one catalyst. The polymerization of 2-furfuyloxy-2-methyl-4H-1,3,2-benzodioxasiline leading to a hybrid material consisting of phenolic resin, poly(furfuryl alcohol), and polymethylsilsesquioxane is, to the best of our knowledge, the first polymerization of this kind. The influence of different catalysts on the polymerization behavior and thus on the structure of the hybrid material was investigated. In accordance with the term “twin polymerization”, which is used for the polymerization of one monomer yielding two separate polymers, this type of polymerization could be called “triple polymerization”. The term “multiple polymerization” is introduced as a general term for the underlying concept of the synthesis of multiple polymers starting from one monomer in one process step.