Highly permeable polymer materials based on silicon-substituted norbornenes

An approach to the manufacture of highly permeable polymers based on the synthesis and polymerization of norbornenes, norbornadienes, and tricyclononenes with different numbers and different positions of silicon-containing substituents has been developed. It has been found that these monomers are readily involved in metathesis polymerization yielding high-molecular-mass polymers possessing good filmforming properties. The addition (vinyl) polymerization of norbornenes is a more complex process; however, the product silylated polynorbornenes exhibit a higher gas permeability than the corresponding metathesis polynorbornenes. By the level of the gas-transport parameters, the silylated addition polynorbornenes obtained in the study are grouped with the most advanced high-permeability polymers. It has been shown that the presence of Me₃Si substituent groups, their amount, and the main-chain structure are responsible for the enhancement of the gas permeability of polynorbornenes. Thus, a series of polymers with a regularly changing structure has been obtained, a result that makes it possible to reveal the polymer structure-property relations.