Corrigendum to “Chain Dynamics in Foamed Polysiloxane Materials: Influence of the tin Catalyst Phase on Material Properties” [Polym Test 39 (2014) 86–91]

• Published in: Polymer testing Vol. 41; pp. 264 - 267
• Main Authors: Patel, Mogon, Boxwell, Jenny L., Black, Steve, Mills, David, Pitts, Simon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2015
• Subjects: Load Retention; Polysiloxanes; Tin Catalyst; Polysiloxanes; Load Retention; Tin Catalyst
• ISSN: 0142-9418; 1873-2348
• DOI: 10.1016/j.polymertesting.2014.10.006

We report on our underpinning science activities investigating the through life performance properties of foamed polysiloxanes. These materials are manufactured through tin octanoate based condensation cure chemistry. The tin catalyst plays an important role, not only in determining crosslink density and microstructure, but also potentially influencing properties (compression set and load retention) important to through life performance. In this study, Mossbauer Spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence has been used to assess the nature and distribution of the tin species and show evidence for highly localized catalyst regions, including a mobile tin phase. Our work shows that the tin catalyst affects the load retention properties are reduced with increased tin catalyst loading, and this correlates with the interaction of the tin particles with the polymer chains as determined by Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The observations reported here support our initiative to develop predictive models representative of the through life performance of foamed polysiloxanes.