Perfect and nearly perfect silsesquioxane (SQs) nanoconstruction sites and Janus SQs

• DOI: 10.1007/s10971-008-1700-9
• Publication Date: 2008-03-06T10:47:26Z
• Authors: R. M. Laine; M. Roll; M. Asuncion; S. Sulaiman; V. Popova; D. Bartz; D. J. Krug; P. H. Mutin
• Keywords: Silsesquioxane; Octant (instrument); Pencil (optics)

Cubic silsesquioxanes (SQs) offer perfect and nearly perfect 3-D symmetry with eight functional groups with each functional group occupying a different octant in Cartesian space. This paper is concerned with the synthesis of both highly symmetrical octa-monofunctional SQs and statistically bifunctional SQs wherein because of similar properties each functionality separates to one side of the cubically symmetric SQ giving Janus-like behavior. In the latter case we find these materials to offer novel properties of use in making both coatings with controlled contact angles ranging from 50–120 °C, with hardnesses (pencil) as high as 6H and the opportunity to make layer-by-layer coatings.