SWELLING PROPERTIES OF CROSS-LINKED MAXILLOFACIAL ELASTOMERS

Silicone specimens cross-linked with various amounts of cross-linking agent were studied in terms of mechanical and swelling behavior. The measured tensile modulus allowed calculation of the average molecular weight between cross-links (M(c)BAR). Equilibrium swelling data were also used, in combination with the determined M(c)BAR values, to obtain the interaction parameter chi of various silicone-solvent systems at 25-degrees-C. Part of this work was also the study of swelling of silicone samples with varying network density in selected solvents such as toluene, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and methyl ethyl ketone. (C) 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.