Patent ID: 7022799

Claim:
A method for producing a polymer comprising the steps of: (i) reacting an organic solution of at least one monomer having the formula: R 1 —Si(OR 2 )(OR 3 )(OR 4 ) wherein R1, R2, R3 and R4 are each independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, alkyl, alkoxy, alkenyl, alkynyl, aryl, cycloalkyl, heteroaryl and heterocyclyl, with a solution of an acid dissolved in water having a specific resistance of at least 18.2 MΩ-cm, at a temperature below about 25° C., to give a prepolymer; (ii) reacting a solution of the prepolymer with a solution of an alkaline catalyst at a temperature above about 25° C. to give a polymer; and (iii) reacting a proportion of the free Si—OH groups of the polymer with a predetermined sub-stoichiometric amount of a blocking agent to give a partially blocked polymer.