Hemi-telechelic and telechelic organic/inorganic poly(ethylene oxide) hybrids based on polyhedral oligmeric silsesquioxanes (POSSs): Synthesis, morphology and self-assembly

Amphiphilic hemi-telechelic and telechelic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) hybrids based on polyhedral oligmeric silsesquioxane (POSS) were prepared via the copper-catalyzed azide–alkyne “click” reaction. Thermal properties of POSS–PEO were characterized using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The result shows that the thermal properties of telechelic POSS–PEO are effectively enhanced by POSS. The morphology of the POSS-containing PEO hybrid crystals was investigated using polarized optical microscopy (POM), and the results indicate that it is much easier for the POSS in the telechelic POSS–PEO hybrids (T-POSS–PEO) to form quite large aggregates, which act as nucleating agents during the crystallization of the PEO chains. The self-assembly behavior of POSS–PEO in water was also studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results reveal that hemi-telechelic POSS–PEO hybrids (HT-POSS–PEO) can self-assemble into spherical aggregates, whereas the T-POSS–PEO hybrids self-assemble into ellipsoidal aggregates.