Self-assembly of bridged silsesquioxanes incorporated with conjugated organic functionalities

Abstract

Self-assembly of bridged silsesquioxanes with a chemical structure of (RO)₃Si-R′-Si(OR)₃ represents an efficient approach to design and to fabricate functional organic/inorganic nanocomposites. The desired functionalities are mainly incorporated into the R’ with R of a hydrolysable alkoxide group such as CH₃ or CH₃CH₂. This feature article discusses two typical assembly approaches: self-directed assembly aiming at ordered solid materials and surfactant-directed assembly aiming at periodic mesoporous organosilica, with emphasis on the bridged silsesquioxanes in which conjugated functional organic groups are incorporated. The conjugated moieties are shown to be critical to the resulting assembly structure, morphology, and property. Self-assembly of three bridged silsesquioxanes based on polydiacetylene, perylene, and porphyrin has been detailed, respectively.

Keywords

self-assembly / bridged silsesquioxane / conjugated / nanocomposite