A radiation-curable organopolysiloxane compound, method for the preparation thereof and method of forming a cured coating film

Abstract: A novel organopolysiloxane compound has in its molecule at least three (meth)acryloxy groups localized at only one of the molecular chain ends of the polysiloxane chain. The localization of the (meth)acryloxy groups results in the organopolysiloxane compound being highly curable by irradiation, e.g., with an electron beam or ultraviolet light, to give a cured coating film on a substrate surface exhibiting excellent releasability against sticky substances. A synthetic route for the preparation of a one-end crosslinkable organopolysiloxane compound of this type is also described.

Description: The present invention relates to a novel radiation-curable or -crosslinkable organopolysiloxane compound and, more particularly, to a novel radiation-curable or -crosslinkable organopolysiloxane compound which is suitable for use in forming a cured surface film on a substrate surface having releasability against adhesives or sticky substances and useful as a back-surface treatment agent of pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes or a surface treatment agent for release paper for pressure-sensitive adhesive labels and the like, hereinafter referred to as a surface-releasing agent, as well as to a method for the preparation of such a novel organopolysiloxane compound. The invention also relates to a method for forming a surface-releasing film on the surface of a substrate by using the organopolysiloxane compound of the invention. It is well known that a variety of organopolysiloxanes or compositions containing them are used for making surface-releasing agents, of which organopolysiloxanes having two or more of (meth)acryloxy, i.e. acryloxy or methacryloxy, groups in a molecule are widely used as radiation-curable surface-releasing agents by virtue of their crosslinkability by irradiation with an electron beam. Such (meth)acryloxy-containing organopolysiloxanes involve the problem that surface-releasability against adhesive materials is necessarily diminished when the density of the (meth)acryloxy groups therein is increased with the object of obtaining improved radiation-crosslinkability. This disadvantage can be partly overcome by mixing the (meth)acryloxy-containing organopolysiloxane with a dimethylpolysiloxane of a straightly linear molecular structure having a high molecular weight but no radiation-crosslinkability (see, for example, Japanese Patent Kokai 62-30234). Though not ineffective in improving the surface-releasability, such an organopolysiloxane composition incurs the problem that the coating film produced by low dose electron beam irradiation is poor in respect of residual adhesiveness. Alternatively, a proposal has been made in Japanese Patent Kokai 62-119141 to use an organopolysiloxane having (meth)acryloxy groups bonded only to the silicon atoms at the molecular chain ends as a coating agent for optical fibers. Such an organopolysiloxane, however, is not entirely satisfactory as a surface-releasing agent due to relatively poor releasability characteristics when a coating film of it is cured by irradiation. The present invention was made with an object in mind to provide a novel organopolysiloxane which is radiation-curable to give a surface-releasing coating film having a good balance between radiation-cross-linkability and surface-releasing characteristics without the above described problems and disadvantages in prior art organopolysiloxanes or compositions containing them. Thus, the organopolysiloxane compound of the invention unexpectedly discovered in the course of the investigations conducted with the above mentioned object in mind is a novel compound represented by the general formula R₃Si-O(SiR₂-0 SiR₂-(CH₂) m -Si(R) a (A) 3-a , (I) in which each R is, independently from the others, a monovalent hydrocarbon group, A is a group having at least one (meth)acryloxy group of the formula H₂C=CR¹-CO-O-, R¹ being a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, the subscript n is a positive integer in the range from 4 to 101, the subscript m is a positive integer in the range from 1 to 5 and the subscript a is zero, 1 or 2, the total number of the (meth)acryloxy groups in the (3-a) groups denoted by A being at least three. Specifically, the organopolysiloxane, which is a novel compound not known in the prior art nor described in any literature, is characterised by the feature that each molecule has at least three (meth)acryloxy groups localized as bonded to the silicon atom at only one of the molecular chain ends. A method in accordance with the invention for forming a surface-releasing film on the surface of a substrate comprises: (a) coating the substrate surface with the above defined organopolysiloxane to form a coating film; and (b) irradiating the coating film with radiation such as an electron beam or ultraviolet light to cure the organopolysiloxane. As described above, the organopolysiloxane compound of the present invention is characterised by the feature that each molecule has at least three (meth)acryloxy groups localized as bonded to the silicon atom at only one of the molecular chain ends. As a consequence of the thus localized distribution of the (meth)acryloxy groups in the molecule, the organopolysiloxane is highly crosslinkable and can be cured by irradiation with a relatively small dose of radiation or, in particular, an electron beam and the cured coating film has excellent surface releasability despite the high sensitivity to radiation-induced crosslinking. This is in great contrast to conventional (meth)acryloxy group-containing organopolysiloxanes in which the (meth)acryloxy groups are distributed at random as pendant groups on the polysiloxane structure or bonded to both of the terminal silicon atoms to give the disadvantage that simultaneous improvements can hardly be obtained in both of the radiation-curability of the compound and the surface-releasability of the radiation-cured coating film. As is mentioned above, the organopolysiloxane of the invention must have at least three (meth)acryloxy groups bonded to only one of the terminal silicon atoms in the molecular chain of the organopolysiloxane. When the total number of the (meth)acryloxy groups is smaller than 3, the organopolysiloxane would have somewhat decreased radiation-curability even when (meth)acryloxy groups are bonded to only one of the terminal silicon atoms. The organopolysiloxane compound of the invention is represented by the general formula R₃Si-O(SiR₂-O SiR₂-(CH₂) m -Si(R) a A 3-a . (I) In the formula, each R is, independently from the others, a monovalent hydrocarbon group free from aliphatic unsaturation selected from alkyl groups, e.g., methyl, ethyl, propyl and butyl groups, and aryl groups, e.g., phenyl and tolyl groups, as well as those substituted monovalent hydrocarbon groups obtained by replacing a part or all of the hydrogen in the above named hydrocarbon groups with, for example, halogen atoms, cyano groups and the like exemplified by chloromethyl, 3,3,3-trifluoropropyl and 2-cyanoethyl groups. It is preferable that at least 80% in number of the groups denoted by R in a molecule are methyl groups to obtain high surface-releasability of the cured film formed from the organopolysiloxane. The symbol A in the formula is a group having at least one (meth)acryloxy group of the formula H₂C=CR¹-CO-O, R¹ being a hydrogen atom or a methyl group. The subscript n is a positive integer in the range from 4 to 101. When the value of n is too small, the radiation-cured coating film of the compound has only low surface-releasability while, when the value of n is too large, the radiation-curability of the compound is significantly decreased. Though not particularly limitative, the subscript m in the formula is a positive integer in the range from 1 to 5 in the simple synthetic procedure described later. The subscript a in the formula is zero, 1 or 2 satisfying the requirement that the total number of (meth)acryloxy groups in the (3-a) groups denoted by the symbol A is at least three. For example, the value of a must be zero when each of the groups denoted by A has only one (meth)acryloxy group. Following are examples of the structural formulae expressing organopolysiloxane compounds represented by the general formula (I) and in conformity with the definitions of each of the symbols and subscripts: R₃Si-O(SiR₂-O SiR₂-(CH₂)₂-Si(O-Si(CH₃)₂-C₃H₆-Q)₃; R₃Si-O(SiR₂-O SiR₂-(CH₂)₂-Si(O-Si(CH₃)₂-C₃H₆-Q)₃; R₃Si-O(SiR₂-O -SiR₂-(CH₂)₂-SiR[O-CH(CH₂-Q)₂]₂; R₃Si-O(SiR₂-O SiR₂-(CH₂)₂-SiR[O-CH₂-C(CH₂-Q)₃]₂; R₃Si-O(SiR₂-O -SiR₂-(CH₂)₂-Si[O-CH(CH₂-Q)₂]₃ ; and R₃Si-O(SiR₂-O -SiR₂-(CH₂)₂-Si[O-CH₂-C(CH₂-Q)₃]₃; in which each of the groups denoted by Q in a molecule can be, independently from the others, an acryloxy group or a methacryloxy group. Following is a description of a synthetic procedure for the preparation of the inventive organopolysiloxane compound represented by the general formula (I). In a first step, a hexaorgano cyclotrisiloxane, e.g., hexamethyl cyclotrisiloxane, is subjected to a ring-opening polymerization reaction with a triorganosilanol, e.g., trimethyl silanol, as the chain-stopper agent in the presence of a penta-coordinate organosilicon compound such as the compound expressed by the following formula as a catalyst so as to give a linear diorganopolysiloxane blocked at only one of the molecular chain ends with a silanolic hydroxy group and represented by the general formula R₃Si-O(SiR₂-O SiR₂-OH, (II) in which R and n each have the same meaning as defined above. The second step is the dehydrochlorination reaction of the above obtained one-end OH-blocked diorganopolysiloxane of the general formula (II) with a diorganochlorosilane, e.g., dimethyl chlorosilane, of the general formula R₂HSiCl, R being the same as above, in the presence of an acid acceptor such as triethylamine to give an SiH-terminated diorganopolysiloxane represented by the general formula R₃Si-O(SiR₂-O SiR₂-H. (III) The next step is the addition reaction or the so-called hydrosilation reaction between the above obtained one-end SiH-terminated diorganopolysiloxane of the general formula (III) and an alkenyl-containing or, preferably, a vinyl group-containing organosilane compound represented by the general formula CH₂=CH-(CH₂) m-2 Si(R) a (X) 3-a , (IV) in which R, m and a each have the same meaning as defined above, m being preferably equal to 2, and X is a halogen or, preferably, chlorine atom or an alkoxy group, e.g., methoxy and ethoxy groups, in the presence of a platinum compound as the catalyst to give a one-end SiX-terminated diorganopolysiloxane represented by the general formula R₃Si-O(SiR₂-O SiR₂-(CH₂) m Si(R) a (X) 3-a . (IV) The last step of the synthetic process to give the organopolysiloxane of the general formula (I) is the dehydrohalogenation reaction, when X is a halogen atom, or dealcoholation condensation reaction, when X is an alkoxy group, with a compound having at least one (meth)acryloxy group and one hydroxy group simultaneously in a molecule in the presence of a suitable acceptor for the hydrogen halide or catalyst for the dealcoholation reaction. Examples of such a (meth)acryloxy- and hydroxy-containing compound include those expressed by the following structural formulae, in which the symbol Me is a methyl group; Q-C₃H₆-SiMe₂-OH; Q-CH₂-SiMe₂-OH; Q-CH₂-CH(OH)-CH₂-Q; and HO-CH₂-C(CH₂-Q)₃, in which each of the groups denoted by Q in a molecule can be, independently from the others when the molecule has two or more of the groups Q, an acryloxy group or a methacryloxy group. Needless to say, the type of the (meth)acryloxy- and hydroxy-containing compound must be selected with consideration to the value of the subscript a in the general formula (IV) in order to satisfy the requirement that the resulting organopolysiloxane of the general formula (I) should have at least three (meth)acryloxy groups. As is mentioned before, the inventive organopolysiloxane compound of the general formula (I) obtained in the above described manner has excellent radiation-curability with a relatively small dose of an electron beam to give a cured surface film having excellent surface releasability against adhesives or sticky substances so that the compound as such can be used as a surface-releasing agent for the back surface of pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes or a surface-releasing agent for release paper on pressure-sensitive adhesive labels or stickers for temporary protection. The inventive compound can be easily cured by irradiation with radiation such as an electron beam, γ-rays and X-rays as well as ultraviolet light. When the radiation is ultraviolet light, in particular, it is desirable that the inventive organopolysiloxane compound is admixed with a photopolymerization initiator such as acetophenone, benzophenone, 4-chlorobenzophenone, 4,4'-dimethoxy benzophenone, 4-methyl acetophenone, benzoin methyl ether, benzoin trialkylsilyl ether or the like. The amount of the photopolymerization initiator is preferably in the range from 0.5 to 15% by weight based on the organopolysiloxane of general formula (I). The organopolysiloxane of the present invention can be used as such as a radiation-curable surface-releasing agent to be applied to a substrate surface. The surface-releasing agent may, if desired, be prepared by admixing the organopolysiloxane of the invention with various kinds of additives such as levelling agents, anti-static agents, defoaming agents, coloring agents and the like. If necessary to facilitate coating with the surface-releasing agent, it can optionally be diluted with a suitable organic solvent. The surface-releasing agent of the organopolysiloxane of the invention is applicable to the surface of any substrate material such as paper, plastic films, metal foils and the like. The thickness of the coating is usually in the range from 0.1 to 200 µm but naturally depends on the sticking power of the adhesive or sticky substance against which the surface-releasing treatment is undertaken. The coating machine used in the coating work is not particularly critical and may include bar coaters, gravure coaters, reverse coaters, rod coaters, offset printing machines and the like. The thus formed coating film of the inventive organopolysiloxane can be readily cured to exhibit excellent surface releasability by irradiation with radiation such as electron beams and ultraviolet light. When electron beams are used as radiation, complete cure of the organopolysiloxane can be achieved with a dose of, for example, 0.3 Mrad or more. In the following description, the invention is illustrated in more detail by way of examples including a description of a typical process for the preparation of the organopolysiloxane of the invention and the application thereof as a surface-releasing agent, making a comparison with conventional organopolysiloxanes. In the following description, the term of "parts" means "parts by weight" and the values of viscosity are all obtained by measurement at 25°C. The effectiveness of the surface-releasing treatment with the organopolysiloxanes was evaluated in terms of peeling resistance and residual adhesiveness determined by the following procedures. Peeling resistance A specified pressure-sensitive adhesive tape (Lumirar 31B Tape, a product by Nitto Denko Co., Japan) was applied and bonded to the surface of a substrate after the surface-releasing treatment and kept for 72 hours at 70 °C under a load of 20 g/cm³ and the adhesive tape was then peeled off at 25 °C by pulling in the 180° direction using an automatic tensile tester at a pulling velocity of 30 cm/minute to record the resistance against peeling in g per 5 cm width of the tape. Residual adhesiveness The value of the residual adhesiveness was given as a % ratio of the value of peeling resistance determined by peeling an adhesive tape, which was taken by peeling off from the release-treated substrate surface in the above described peeling resistance test and then applied and bonded to a well-polished clean stainless steel plate, off the stainless steel plate to the value of peeling resistance determined in just the same manner as above except for replacement of the release-treated substrate with a clean Teflon plate. A larger value for this residual adhesiveness means a smaller fraction of uncured organopolysiloxane in the surface-releasing coating film which may migrate from the release-treated substrate surface to the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape to decrease the adhesiveness of the tape. In other words, the value of residual adhesiveness can be used as a measure of the curability of the organopolysioloxane. Synthetic Preparation 1. Into a four-necked glass flask of 1 liter capacity were introduced 666 g (3 moles) of hexamethyl cyclotrisiloxane, 90 g (1 mole) of trimethyl silanol and 0.1 g of a penta-coordinate organosilicon compound expressed by the formula as a catalyst to form a reaction mixture, which was heated at 80 °C for 16 hours under agitation to effect the ring-opening polymerization reaction of the cyclic trisiloxane. The product was a one-end silanol-terminated dimethyl polysiloxane having an average degree of polymerization of 10 and expressed by the formula Me₃Si-O(SiMe₂-O H, (1) in which Me is a methyl group. In the next step, the thus obtained one-end silanol-terminated dimethyl polysiloxane was admixed with 120 g of triethylamine and then 94.5 g (1.0 mole) of dimethyl monochlorosilane were added dropwise to the mixture in the flask, which was agitated for 5 hours at 25 °C. The product was a one-end SiH-terminated dimethyl polysiloxane having an average degree of polymerization of 11 expressed by the formula Me₃Si-O(SiMe₂-O SiMe₂-H, (2) in which Me is a methyl group. Thereafter, 162.8 g (0.2 mole) of the one-end SiH-terminated dimethyl polysiloxane of the formula (2), 32.3 g (0.2 mole) of vinyl trichlorosilane, 200 g of toluene and 0.1 g of a 2% solution of chloroplatinic acid in n-butyl alcohol were introduced into a four-necked flask of 500 ml capacity and the mixture was heated at 100°C for 5 hours under agitation to effect the hydrosilation reaction. The reaction mixture was examined by infrared absorption spectrophotometry which indicated complete disappearance of the absorption band at the wave number of 2150 cm⁻¹ assignable to the Si-H bond. The product was a dimethyl polysiloxane blocked at one molecular chain end with a trichlorosilylethyl group and expressed by the formula Me₃Si-O(SiMe₂-O SiMe₂-C₂H₄-SiCl₃, (3) in which Me is a methyl group. In the last step of the synthetic procedure, 97.6 g (0.1 mole) of the above obtained one-end trichlorosilylethyl-terminated dimethyl polysiloxane of the formula (3), 89.4 g (0.3 mole) of pentaerithritol triacrylate, 187 g of toluene, 88.2 g of triethyl amine and 0.08 g of di-tert-butyl hydroxytoluene were introduced into a four-necked flask of 500 ml capacity and the mixture was heated at 70 °C for 3 hours under agitation to effect the dehydrochlorination reaction. The precipitates of triethylamine hydrochloride were removed from the reaction mixture by filtration and the filtrate was stripped of the volatile matter including the solvent by heating under reduced pressure to give 140 g of a clear, light yellow liquid product having a viscosity of 120 centipoise. This product, referred to as the polysiloxane A hereinbelow, could be assumed to be expressed by the formula Me₃Si-O(SiMe₂-O SiMe₂-C₂H₄- -Si[O-CH₂-C(CH₂-O-CO-CH=CH₂)₃]₃, (4) having nine acryloxy groups localized at one molecular chain end. Synthetic Preparation 2. The synthetic procedure was substantially the same as in Synthetic Preparation 1 described above except for replacement of the pentaerithritol triacrylate with the same molar amount, i.e. 64.2 g, of glycerin 1-methacrylate-3-acrylate of the formula CH₂=CMe-CO-O-CH₂-CH(OH)-CH₂-O-CO-CH=CH₂ to give 128 g of a clear, light yellow liquid product having a viscosity of 85 centipoise. This product, referred to as the polysiloxane 8 hereinbelow, could be assumed to be expressed by the formula Me₃Si-O(SiMe₂-O SiMe₂-C₂H₄- -Si[O-CH(CH₂-O-CO-CH=CH₂)(CH₂-O-CO-CMe=CH₂)]₃, (5) having three acryloxy and three methacryloxy groups localized at one molecular chain end. Synthetic Preparation 3. A one-end SiH-terminated dimethyl polysiloxane expressed by the formula Me₃Si-O(SiMe₂-O SiMe₂-H, (6) was prepared in substantially the same manner as in the preparation of the dimethyl polysiloxane of the formula (2) in Synthetic Preparation 1 except for modification of the proportion of the hexamethyl cyclotrisiloxane and trimethyl silanol. Thereafter, 236.8 g (0.1 mole) of this dimethyl polysiloxane and 16.2 g (0.1 mole) of vinyl trichlorosilane were subjected to the hydrolisation reaction in the same manner as in the preparation of the dimethyl polysiloxane of the formula (3) to give a one-end trichlorosilyl ethyl-terminated dimethyl polysiloxane expressed by the formula Me₃Si-O(SiMe₂-O SiMe₂-C₂H₄-SiCl₃. (7) In the last step, 253 g (0.1 mole) of the thus obtained dimethyl polysiloxane of the formula (7) and 89.4 g (0.3 mole) of pentaerithritol triacrylate were subjected to a dehydrochlorination reaction with triethylamine as the acid acceptor in the same manner as in Synthetic Preparation 1 to give 250 g of a clear, light yellow liquid product having a viscosity of 90 centipoise. This product, referred to as the polysiloxane C hereinbelow, could be assumed to be expressed by the formula Me₃Si-O(SiMe₂-O SiMe₂-C₂H₄- -Si[O-CH₂-C(CH₂-O-CO-CH=CH₂)₃]₃, (8) having nine acryloxy groups localized at one molecular chain end. Synthetic Preparation 4. A one-end SiH-terminated dimethyl polysiloxane expressed by the formula Me₃Si-O(SiMe₂-O SiMe₂-H, (9) was prepared in substantially the same manner as in the preparation of the dimethyl polysiloxane of the formula (2) in Synthetic Preparation 1 except for modification of the proportion of the hexamethyl cyclotrisiloxane and trimethyl silanol. Then, 229.4 g (0.05 mole) of this dimethyl polysiloxane and 7.1 g (0.05 mole) of vinyl methyl dichlorosilane were subjected to a hydrosilation reaction in the same manner as in the preparation of the dimethyl polysiloxane of the formula (3) to give a one-end methyldichlorosilyl ethyl-terminated dimethyl polysiloxane expressed by the formula Me₃Si-O(SiMe₂-O SiMe₂-C₂H₄-SiMeCl₂. (10) In the last step, 236.5 g (0.05 mole) of the thus obtained dimethyl polysiloxane of the formula (10) and 21.4 g (0.1 mole) of glycerin 1-methacrylate-3-acrylate were subjected to a dehydrochlorination reaction with triethyl amine as the acid acceptor in the same manner as in Synthetic Preparation 1 to give 205 g of a clear, light yellow liquid product having a viscosity of 120 centipoise. This product, referred to as the polysiloxane D hereinbelow, could be assumed to be expressed by the formula Me₃Si-O(SiMe₂-O SiMe₂-C₂H₄- -SiMe[O-CH(CH₂-O-CO-CH=CH₂)(CH₂-O-CO-CMe=CH₂)]₂, (11) having two acryloxy and two methacryloxy groups localized at one molecular chain end. Synthetic Preparation 5 (Comparative). A hydrosilation reaction was conducted in substantially the same manner as in Synthetic Example 1 between 236.8 g (0.1 mole) of the one-end SiH-terminated dimethyl polysiloxane prepared in Synthetic Preparation 3 and expressed by the formula (6) and 12.05 g (0.1 mole) of dimethyl vinyl chlorosilane to give a one-end dimethylchlorosilyl ethyl-terminated dimethyl polysiloxane expressed by the formula Me₃Si-O(SiMe₂-O SiMe₂-C₂H₄-SiMe₂Cl. (12) Then, 124 g (0.05 mole) of this dimethyl polysiloxane and 10.7 g (0.05 mole) of glycerin 1-methacrylate-3 acrylate were subjected to a dehydrochlorination reaction in the same manner as in Synthetic Preparation 2 to give 98 g of a clear, light yellow product having a viscosity of 80 centipoise. This product, referred to as the polysiloxane E hereinbelow, could be assumed to be expressed by the formula Me₃Si-O(SiMe₂-O SiMe₂-C₂H₄- -SiMe₂[O-CH(CH₂-O-CO-CH=CH₂)(CH₂-O-CO-CMe=CH₂)], (13) having each one of acryloxy and methacryloxy groups localized at one molecular chain end. Application Example 1. A sheet of polyethylene-laminated paper was coated on the polyethylene surface with the polysiloxane A obtained in Synthetic Preparation 1 in a coating amount of 0.8 g/m² using an offset printing machine and the coating film was irradiated with an electron beam in a dose of 0.5 Mrad in an atmosphere of nitrogen gas using a low-energy electron accelerator (Electrocurtain Model CB20d 50/30, a product of Energy Science Industry Co.) with the result that the coating film was completely cured to firmly adhere to the substrate surface. The thus formed cured coating film on the substrate surface was subjected to tests of peeling resistance and residual adhesiveness in the testing procedures described before using a pressure-sensitive adhesive tape Lumirar 31B (a producty by Nitto Denko Co.) the results being that the peeling resistance was 28 g/5 cm and the residual adhesiveness was 100%. Application Example 2. The experimental procedure was substantially the same as in Application Example 1 described above except that the polysiloxane A was admixed with 4% by weight of benzoin isobutyl ether as a photopolymerization initiator and the coating film on the substrate surface in a coating amount of about 2.0 g/m² was irradiated, instead of by electron beam irradiation, with ultraviolet light in air for about 0.6 second using two high-pressure mercury lamps each having a linear output of 80 watts/cm and held at a distance of 8 cm above the substrate surface. The thus formed completely cured coating film on the substrate surface was subjected to the same tests with the results that the peeling resistance was 20 g/5 cm and the residual adhesiveness was 95%. Application Example 3. The experimental procedure was exactly the same as in Application Example 1 except for the replacement of the polysiloxane A with the polysiloxane B prepared in Synthetic Preparation 2. The coating film could also be completely cured and tests undertaken with the thus cured coating film gave results for the peeling resistance of 30 g/5 cm and the residual adhesiveness was 100%. Application Examples 4 and 5. The experimental procedure in each of these experiments was exactly the same as in Application Example 1 except for replacement of polysiloxane A with polysiloxane C prepared in Synthetic Preparation 3 and polysiloxane D prepared in Synthetic Preparation 4, respectively, the dose of the electron beam irradiation required for complete curing of the coating films being 3 Mrad and 5 Mrad for polysiloxanes C and D, respectively. The peeling resistance and residual adhesiveness were 12 g/5 cm and 98% for polysiloxane C and 5 g/5 cm and 90% for polysiloxane D. Application Example 6 (Comparative). The same experimental procedure as in Application Example 1 was undertaken except for replacement of polysiloxane A with polysiloxane E prepared in Synthetic Preparation 5 with the result that the coating film could not be cured even by increasing the dose of the electron beam irradiation up to 8 Mrad, indicating that polysiloxane E could not be used practically as an electron beam-curable coating agent.

Claims: An organopolysiloxane compound represented by the general formula R₃Si-O(SiR₂-O SiR₂-(CH₂) m -Si(R) a (A) 3-a , in which each R is, independently from the others, a monovalent hydrocarbon group, A is a group having at least one (meth)acryloxy group of the formula H₂C=CR¹-CO-O-, R¹ being a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, the subscript n is a positive integer in the range from 4 to 101, the subscript m is a positive integer in the range from 1 to 5 and the subscript a is zero, 1 or 2, the total number of the (meth)acryloxy groups in the group or groups denoted by A being at least three. An organopolysiloxane compound as claimed in claim 1 wherein the group denoted by R is a methyl group. An organopolysiloxane compound as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the subscript m is 2. An organopolysiloxane compound as claimed in any one of the preceeding claims wherein the group denoted by A is a tris(acryloxymethyl)-methoxy group of the formula -O-CH₂-C(CH₂-O-C)-CH=CH₂)₃ or a methacryloxymethyl acryloxymethyl methoxy group of the formula -O-CH(CH₂-O-CO-CCH₃=CH₂)(CH₂-O-CO-CH=CH₂). A method for the preparation of an organopolysiloxane compound as claim in claim 1 which comprises the steps of: (a) subjecting a hexaorgano cyclotrisiloxane to a ring-opening polymerization reaction with a triorganosilanol as a chain end-stopper agent in the presence of a penta-coordinate organosilicon compound as a catalyst to form a diorganopolysiloxane having a linear molecular structure and terminated at only one of the molecular chain ends with a silanolic hydroxy group, the other terminal group being a triorganosilyl group; (b) subjecting the one-end silanol-terminated diorganopolysiloxane obtained in step (a) to a dehydrochlorination reaction with a diorganochlorosilane in the presence of an acid acceptor to form a diorganopolysiloxane terminated at only one of the molecular chain ends with a hydrogen atom directly bonded to the terminal silicon atom; (c) subjecting the one-end SiH-terminated diorganopolysiloxane obtained in step (b) to a hydrosilation reaction with an alkenyl silane compound represented by the general formula CH₂=CH-(CH₂) m-2 Si(R) a (X) 3-a , in which R, M and a each have the same meaning as defined in claim 1 and X is a chlorine atom or an alkoxy group, in the presence of a platinum compound as a catalyst to form a diorganopolysiloxane terminated at only one of the molecular chain ends with the group of the formula -CH₂-CH₂-(CH₂) m-2 Si(R) a (X) 3-a ; and (d) subjecting the diorganopolysiloxane obtained in step (c) to a dehydrochlorination reaction or dealcoholation condensation reaction with a compound having a hydroxy group and at least one (meth)acryloxy group in a molecule in the presence of an acid acceptor or a catalyst for the dealcoholation condensation reaction. A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein the compound having a hydroxy group and at least one (meth)acryloxy group in a molecule is pentaerithritol triacrylate or glycerin 1-methacrylate-3-acrylate. A method of forming a cured coating film on a substrate surface having releasability against sticky substances which comprises: (i) coating the substrate surface with the organopolysiloxane compound as claimed in claim 1; and (ii) irradiating the substrate surface coated with the organopolysiloxane compound. A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein the irradiation in step (ii) is performed with an electron beam. A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein the organopolysiloxane compound is admixed with a photopolymerization initiator and the irradiation in step (ii) is performed with ultraviolet light.

Inventors: IRIFUNE SHINJI, OHBA TOSHIO, IRIFUNE, SHINJI, OHBA, TOSHIO
Applicants: SHINETSU CHEMICAL CO, SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
Application year: 1990
Main classification: C09D183
IPC codes: C08F290, C08F299, C08G77, C09D183