Solution Behavior of Hyperbranched Polymethylsilsesquioxane with Intramolecular Cycles

Samples of hyperbranched polymethylsilsesquioxanes were synthesized at various polycondensation times and intramolecular cycle amounts. The samples were studied in solutions in toluene and hexane. It is shown that increasing the polycondensation duration results in the growth of number of cycles and intramolecular density that correlates with changes of molecular, hydrodynamic, and optic properties.     

Modification of proton conductive polymer membranes with phosphonated polysilsesquioxanes

New hybrid membranes for fuel cell applications based on sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) and phosphonated polysilsesquioxanes were synthesized. The impedance spectroscopy measurements show an increase of the proton conductivity for all studied composites, in comparison to plain SPEEK. For hybrid membranes containing 20 wt% of polysilsesquioxane with 80 mol% of phosphonated units the conductivities can reach values that are similar to Nafion 117^® at 100% RH. The best results of proton conductivity (142 mS/cm) were obtained for composites with 40 wt% of the same polysilsesquioxane at 120 °C also at 100% RH.     

Effect of P/Si polymeric silsesquioxane and the monomer compound on thermal properties of epoxy nanocomposite

The unique polymeric silsesquioxane/4,4′-diglycidyether bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy nanocomposites have been prepared by sol-gel method. The structure of nanocomposites was characterized by attenuated total reflectance (ATR) and solid state ²⁹Si NMR. The characteristic intensity of trisubstituted (T) structure was higher than that of tetrasubstituted (Q) structure from solid state ²⁹Si NMR spectra of 3-isocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane (IPTS) modified epoxy. The activation energies of curing reaction of epoxy system and IPTS modified epoxy system are 28-66 kJ/mol and 57-75 kJ/mol, respectively, by Ozawa’s and Kissinger’s methods. The triethyoxysilane side chain of IPTS modified epoxy might interfere the curing reaction of epoxy/amine and increase the activation energy of curing. The thermal degradation of nanocomposites was investigated by Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The char yield of nanocomposites was proportional to the 2-(diphenylphosphino)ethyltriethoxysilane (DPPETES) moiety content at high temperature. A higher char content could inhibit thermal decomposition dramatically and enhance the thermal stability. Moreover, the nanocomposites possess high optical transparency.