Organotrialkoxysilanes: Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Materials

Because many organotrialkoxysilanes form soluble polymers or oligomers rather than gels when hydrolyzed and condensed, there is an opportunity to use the polysilsesquioxanes as well defined polymeric building blocks for complex materials. Reactive organic functionalities on the organic group can be used to link the polymers together to form network materials and gels. We are investigating the formation of hybrid organic-inorganic materials based on 1) the reactions of two different polysilsesquixoanes, 2) the reaction of a polysilsesquioxane with a polyfunctional organic monomer, and the reaction of a polysilsesquioxane with an organic polymer. The figure above shows the hybrid gel resulting from a maleimide-functionalized polysilsesquioxane being used as a macromolecular monomer in the free radical co-polymerization with styrene.

Contact: Doug Loy