Synthesis of aromatic functionalized cage-rearranged silsesquioxanes (T 8 , T 10 , and T 12 ) via nucleophilic substitution reactions

Organic-inorganic hybrid nano-building blocks of aromatic nitro-, aldehyde-, and bromo-functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes were easily prepared through nucleophilic substitutions, starting from the reactions between octakis(3-chloropropyl)octasilsesquioxane and phenoxide derivatives. These phenoxide anions not only supply the substitution functions to a silsesquioxane cage, but can also induce a cage-rearrangement leading to the formation of octa-, deca-, and dodecahedral silsesquioxane cages.