We
describe a versatile cascade route for manufacturing MQ resins
using alkoxysilanes (e.g., tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)) or equivalent
oligomers (e.g., ethyl polysilicate (polyTEOS)), a carboxylic acid
(typically acetic acid), and hexamethyldisiloxane (MM) as starting
materials; a strong acid catalyst is also employed in the one-pot
reaction. The siloxane resin synthesis is accompanied by esterification
of the carboxylic acid to give ethyl acetate, which acts as an important
solvent, making the process more controllable. Contrary to traditional
sol–gel methods, no water is introduced in the experiments,
but is generated in situ. The strategy offers several advantages,
including reproducibility, high yields of siloxane resins with excellent
batch-to-batch consistency and without gel formation, narrow dispersity,
low Si-hydroxyl residues in the final products, and the ability of
increasing the molecular weight by thermal treatment. The process
utilizes the green chemistry concepts of lower pollutant formation
and higher atom efficiency.