POLYHEDRAL OLIGOMERIC SILSESQUIOXANE (POSS)-BASED POLYMERS

A diverse and entirely new class of monomer and polymer technology bas ed on polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) reagents has been de veloped. POSS reagents are uniquee in that they are physically large ( approx. 15 Angstrom diameter and 1000 amu) and are composed of a robus t silicon-oxygen framework that can be easily functionalized with a va riety of organic substituents, Appropriate functionalization of POSS c ages allows for their incorporation into traditional thermoplastic res ins without modification of existing manufacturing processes. The inco rporation of POSS segments into linear copolymer systems results in in creased glass transition and decomposition temperatures, increased oxy gen permeability and reduced flammability and heat evolution, as well as modified mechanical properties relative to conventional organic sys tems. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.