Ring-opening polymerization of octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane using 3d metal trifluoroacetate complexes

3d-Metal trifluoroacetate complex-catalyzed ring opening polymerization of octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane affords polydimethylsiloxanes whose molecular weight can be controlled by the nature of 3d metal complexes, in particular, by their structural type, and by the polymerization conditions. The best results were achieved using tetranuclear zinc oxotrifluoroacetate as the catalyst at a temperature of 75°C and a reaction time of 35h.