Application of solid-state NMR (13C and 29Si CP/MAS NMR) spectroscopy to the characterization of alkenyltrialkoxysilane and trialkoxysilyl-terminated polyisoprene grafting onto silica microparticles

The solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) was used to characterize surfaces of silica gels chemically modified by alkenyltrialkoxysilanes and trialkoxysilyl terminated 1,4-polyisoprenes. The formation of covalent bonds created between alkoxy functional groups from alkenyltrialkoxysilane or trialkoxysilyl-terminated 1,4-polyisoprene and silanol groups on silica was clearly demonstrated by means of C-13 and Si-29 CP/MAS NMR spectroscopy. Quantitative data, including calculation of the grafting yields in relation with the initial silanol concentrations, were also obtained by using solid-state Si-29-NMR leading to a final well-defined characterization of the silica surfaces. A relatively good agreement was noticed between the grafting yields calculated from Si-29-NMR spectra and those determined from other analytical techniques such as Wijs titration or elementary analysis. The reactivity of the various silica silanols towards each coupling agent was clearly characterized and estimated, as were the proportions of the various grafted structures formed at the silica surface. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.