Hemi-telechelic polystyrene-POSS copolymers as model systems for the study of well-defined inorganic/organic hybrid materials

The development of a synthetic protocol for preparing well-defined polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS)-polystyrene (PS) hemi-telechelic hybrids, was discussed. These model systems helped in studying the ordering, or aggregation behavior, of inorganic nanoparticles within polymeric matrices. An increase in the char yield under both air and nitrogen atmospheres was observed by TGA for PS-POSS four hybrids. The results show that the glass transition temperature for the hydroxyl-terminated polystyrene oligomers is dependent on molecular weight.