Hybrid materials with superior structural and functional properties can be obtained by incorporating nanofillers into polymer matrices. Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) nanoparticles have attracted much attention recently due to their nanometer size, the ease of which these particles can be incorporated into polymeric materials and the unique capability to reinforce polymers. We review here the state of POSS-containing polymer nanocomposites. We discuss the influence of the incorporation of POSS into polymer matrices via chemical cross-linking or physical blending on the structure of nanocomposites, as affected by surface functional groups, and the POSS concentration.
The coassembly of polyhedral oligosilsesquioxanes (POSS) of two different surface chemistries is considered, one hydrophilic, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), and the other hydrophobic, isobutyl (iB), in cylindrical structures formed by hydrated poly(ethylene oxide)‐poly(propylene oxide)‐poly(ethylene oxide) block copolymer, Pluronic P105 (EO37PO56EO37). Incorporation of PEO‐POSS by replacing an equal mass of water results in an increase in the lattice parameter (d), which is attributed to an increase in the degree of block segregation. In the case of adding PEO‐POSS at a fixed Pluronic P105/water ratio, d ~ φpolymer‐0.7, which suggests that PEO‐POSS particles are located inside the hydrated PEO domains. Incorporation of iB‐POSS in the water‐in‐xylene cylindrical structure causes an order‐to‐order phase transition to a bicontinuous cubic structure, which suggests that iB‐POSS decreases the degree of block segregation by locating at the PEO‐PPO interfacial regions. The nanoparticle versus molecule nature of POSS is discussed by comparing POSS effects to those of 10.6 nm diameter deprotonated silica nanoparticles and of glycerol or glucose.
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