Raquel N Terroba

US Patent:

6972312, Dec 6, 2005

Filed:

Aug 4, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/631892

Inventors:

Joseph D. Lichtenhan - San Juan Capistrano CA, US
Joseph J. Schwab - Huntington Beach CA, US
William Reinerth - Westminster CA, US
Michael J. Carr - Fountain Valley CA, US
Frank J. Feher - Costa Mesa CA, US
Raquel Terroba - Irvine CA, US
Qibo Liu - Irvine CA, US

Assignee:

Hybrid Plastics LLC - Fountain Valley CA

International Classification:

C08G077/06

US Classification:

528 14, 528 21, 528 23, 528 31, 528 33, 556450, 556455, 556467, 556469, 525474, 525477

Abstract:

Three processes for the manufacture of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) which utilize the action of bases that are capable of either attacking silicon or any compound that can react with a protic solvent (e. g. ROH, HO etc. ) and generate hydroxide [OH], alkoxide [RO]′, etc. The first process utilizes such bases to effectively redistribute the silicon-oxygen frameworks in polymeric silsesquioxanes [RSiO]where ∞=1-1,000,000 or higher into POSS nanostructures of formulas [(RSiO)Σ#, homoleptic, [(RXSiO)]Σ#, functionalized homoleptic, [(RSiO)(R′SiO)], heteroleptic, and {(RSiO)(RXSiO)}, functionalized heteroleptic nanostructures. The second process utilizes base to aid in the formation of POSS nanostructures of formulas [(RSiO)]Σ# homoleptic and [(RSiO)(R′SiO)] heteroleptic and [(RSiO)(RXSiO)] functionalized heteroleptic nanostructures from silanes RSiXand linear or cyclic silsesquioxanes of the formula RXSi—(OSiRX)—OSiRXwhere m=0-10, X=OH, Cl, Br, I, alkoxide OR, acetate OOCR, peroxide OOR, amine NR, isocyanate NCO, and R. The third process utilizes base to selectively ring-open the silicon-oxygen-silicon (Si—O—Si) bonds in POSS structures to form POSS species with incompletely condensed nanostructures. These processes also afford stereochemical control over X.