Synthesis and properties of hyperbranched copolymers based on perfluorinated germanium hydrides

Hyperbranched copolymers of various structures and molecular masses in the range 2.0 × 10 4 −4.4 × 10 5 are prepared via the activated copolycondensation of tris- and bis(pentafluorophenyl)germane in tetrahydrofuran performed in the presence of triethylamine as an activator. The kinetics of copolycondensation is studied via the method of heat-conduction reaction calorimetry. It is found that tris(pentafluorophenyl)germane shows a higher activity in copolycondensation than bis(pentafluorophenyl)germane. Shear moduli, loss factors, and glass-transition temperatures of the copolymers are determined by dynamic mechanical analysis and differential-scanning calorimetry. The copolymers feature glass-transition temperatures up to 250°C. These values are considerably higher than those of perfluorinated polyphenylenegermane (162°C).