monomer hexaethylcyclotrisiloxane is polymerized with NaOH as a catalyst in the presence
of the promoter 12-crown-4 (1, 4, 7, 10 tetraoxacyclododecane). The effects of NaOH
concentration, 12-crown-4 concentration, and polymerization time on the molecular weight
distribution are reported. A mechanism for the polymerization is proposed based on current
knowledge of anionic ring-opening polymerization of cyclic siloxanes. The advantages and …