ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Synthesis of silsesquioxane nanocomposites

Ondřej Smrtka and Josef Jančář

Institute of Materials Chemistry, School of Chemistry, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 118, 61200 Brno, Czech Republic

E-mail: smrtka@fch.vutbr.cz

Received: 15 November 2007  Revised: 18 March 2008  Accepted: 21 March 2008

Abstract: In order to investigate the effect of presence of well defined nano-sized inorganic particles on the molecular mobility a conformation statistics of polymer chains, well defined polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) macromolecules containing polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes nanoparticles (POSS) were synthesized by copper-mediated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Two approaches were used for the synthesis — the first involves POSS as the initiator of ATRP; the second way considers an addition of POSS to the polymer (prepared by ATRP) with an appropriate functional group. Kinetics of polymerization was determined using common analytical methods and it was compared to the polymerizations initiated by low-molecular weight initiators, regarding the polymerization rate, initiation efficiency and polydispersity of the polymer. Efficiency of the initiation with POSS-containing initiators was low, causing remnants of inseparable free POSS in polymer. The second approach bypassed these disadvantages —POSS is connected to the polymer through a pending allyl group using the very efficient hydrosilylation reaction.

Keywords: silsesquioxane - POSS - nanocomposite - polymer synthesis - polystyrene - poly(methyl methacrylate)

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.2478/s11696-008-0054-7

Chemical Papers 62 (5) 504–508 (2008)