Polyfunctional cubic silsesquioxanes as building blocks for organic/inorganic hybrids

Cubic silsesquioxanes, [RSiO 1.5 ] x , potentially offer access to organic/inorganic hybrids wherein the exact shape, size and mechanical properties of the inorganic component are perfectly defined. Furthermore, by tailoring the organic functionality bound to silicon, the inorganic/organic interface can also be perfectly defined. Finally, careful selection of the polymerizable groups in the organic moieties can provide good-to-excellent control of the crosslinked density or degree of polymerization of the resulting hybrid materials. Thus, cubic silsesquioxanes may be exceptional model materials for inorganic/organic hybrids. Methods of synthesizing cubes with liquid-crystalline and/or polymerizable organic moieties are described. Some thermal properties are discussed. The catalytic copolymerization of the octavinyldimethylsiloxy-functionalized cube with the octahydridodimethyl-­siloxy-functionalized cube to produce a material with well-defined microporosity and high surface area is described.