Polysiloxanes, methods of making same and high refractive index silicones made from same

Claim 1

A method for making a polysiloxane comprising: (a) contacting a cyclic silicon bonded hydride-containing siloxane monomer with at least one component having the formula: R.sup.2 -f wherein R 2 is selected from the group consisting of aryl radicals and substituted aryl radicals, and f is a functional monovalent radical capable of reacting with a silicon bonded hydride group of said cyclic silicon bonded hydride-containing siloxane monomer at conditions to chemically react said component with at least one of said silicon bonded hydride groups of said cyclic silicon bonded hydride-containing siloxane monomer and form a cyclic aryl-containing siloxane monomer including at least one --R 1 --R 2 group wherein R 1 is selected from the group consisting of divalent radicals; (b) contacting said cyclic aryl-containing siloxane monomer with at least one other siloxane monomer and an effective amount of at least one end blocking group precursor at conditions effective to decyclize and polymerize said cyclic aryl-containing siloxane monomer, react said other siloxane monomer and form a polysiloxane having a refractive index of at least 1.46, end blocking groups derived from said at least one end blocking group precursor are radicals selected from the group consisting of monovalent hydrocarbon radicals having a multiple bond and substituted monovalent hydrocarbon radicals having a multiple bond, and wherein said polysiloxane has the following units: ##STR6## wherein each R and R 4 is independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl radicals, substituted alkyl radicals, aryl radicals and substituted aryl radicals, n is an integer in the range of 6 to about 500, m is an integer in the range of 1 to about 500, and the aryl-containing substituents in said polysiloxane comprise at least 10 mol % of the total silicon-bound substituents in said polysiloxane; (c) contacting said polysiloxane with at least one cross-linker component to form a cross-linked copolymer which is optically clear and has a refractive index of at least 1.46; and (d) forming a lens body for use in or on a mammalian eye including said cross-linked copolymer.

Claim 2

A method for making a polysiloxane comprising: (a) contacting a cyclic silicon bonded hydride-containing siloxane monomer with at least one component having the formula: R.sup.2 -f wherein R 2 is selected from the group consisting of aryl radicals and substituted aryl radicals, and f is a functional monovalent radical capable of reacting with a silicon bonded hydride group of said cyclic silicon bonded hydride-containing siloxane monomer at conditions to chemically react said component with at least one of said silicon bonded hydride groups of said cyclic silicon bonded hydride-containing siloxane monomer and form a cyclic aryl-containing siloxane monomer including at least one --R 1 --R 2 group wherein R 1 is selected from the group consisting of divalent radicals; (b) contacting said cyclic aryl-containing siloxane monomer with at least one other siloxane monomer and an effective amount of at least one end blocking group precursor at conditions effective to decyclize and polymerize said cyclic aryl-containing siloxane monomer, react said other siloxane monomer and form a polysiloxane having a refractive index of at least 1.46, end blocking groups derived from said at least one end blocking group precursor are radicals selected from the group consisting of monovalent hydrocarbon radicals having a multiple bond and substituted monovalent hydrocarbon radicals having a multiple bond, and wherein said polysiloxane has the following units: ##STR6## wherein each R and R 4 is independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl radicals, substituted alkyl radicals, aryl radicals and substituted aryl radicals, n is an integer in the range of 6 to about 500, m is an integer in the range of 1 to about 500, and the aryl-containing substituents in said polysiloxane comprise at least 10 mol % of the total silicon-bound substituents in said polysiloxane; (c) contacting said polysiloxane with at least one cross-linker component to form a cross-linked copolymer which is optically clear and has a refractive index of at least 1.46; and (d) forming a lens body for use in or on a mammalian eye including said cross-linked copolymer.

Claim 9

A method for making a lens body for use in or on a mammalian eye comprising: (a) contacting a cyclic silicon bonded hydride-containing siloxane monomer with at least one component having the formula R.sup.2 -f wherein R 2 is selected from the group consisting of aryl radicals and substituted aryl radicals and f is a functional monovalent radical capable of reacting with a silicon bonded hydride group of said cyclic silicon bonded hydride-containing siloxane monomer at conditions effective to chemically react said component with at least one of said silicon bonded hydride groups of said cyclic silicon bonded hydride-containing siloxane monomer and form a cyclic aryl-containing siloxane monomer including at least one --R 1 --R 2 group wherein R 1 is selected from the group consisting of divalent radicals; (b) contacting said cyclic aryl-containing siloxane monomer with an effective amount of at least one end blocking group precursor at conditions effective to decyclize and polymerize said cyclic aryl-containing siloxane monomer and form a polysiloxane having a refractive index of at least 1.46, end blocking groups derived from said at least one end blocking group precursor are radicals selected from the group consisting of monovalent hydrocarbon radicals having a multiple bond and substituted monovalent hydrocarbon radicals having a multiple bond, and wherein said polysiloxane has a repeating unit of ##STR7## wherein each R 4 is independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl radicals, substituted alkyl radicals, aryl radicals and substituted aryl radicals; (c) contacting said polysiloxane with at least one cross-linker component to form a cross-linked copolymer which is optically clear and has a refractive index of at least 1.4; and (d) forming a lens body for use in or on a mammalian eye including said cross-linked copolymer.

Claim 10

A method for making a lens body for use in or on a mammalian eye comprising: (a) contacting a cyclic silicon bonded hydride-containing siloxane monomer with at least one component having the formula R.sup.2 -f wherein R 2 is selected from the group consisting of aryl radicals and substituted aryl radicals and f is a functional monovalent radical capable of reacting with a silicon bonded hydride group of said cyclic silicon bonded hydride-containing siloxane monomer at conditions effective to chemically react said component with at least one of said silicon bonded hydride groups of said cyclic silicon bonded hydride-containing siloxane monomer and form a cyclic aryl-containing siloxane monomer including at least one --R 1 --R 2 group wherein R 1 is selected from the group consisting of divalent radicals; (b) contacting said cyclic aryl-containing siloxane monomer with an effective amount of at least one end blocking group precursor at conditions effective to decyclize and polymerize said cyclic aryl-containing siloxane monomer and form a polysiloxane having a refractive index of at least 1.46, end blocking groups derived from said at least one end blocking group precursor are radicals selected from the group consisting of monovalent hydrocarbon radicals having a multiple bond and substituted monovalent hydrocarbon radicals having a multiple bond, and wherein said polysiloxane has a repeating unit of ##STR7## wherein each R 4 is independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl radicals, substituted alkyl radicals, aryl radicals and substituted aryl radicals; (c) contacting said polysiloxane with at least one cross-linker component to form a cross-linked copolymer which is optically clear and has a refractive index of at least 1.4; and (d) forming a lens body for use in or on a mammalian eye including said cross-linked copolymer.