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Simulations of Organic-tethered Silsesquioxane Nanocube Assemblies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Xi Zhang ,
Elaine R. Chan ,
Lin C. Ho  and
Sharon C. Glotzer
Xi Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109–2136
Elaine R. Chan
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109–2136
Lin C. Ho
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109–2136
Sharon C. Glotzer*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109–2136 Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109–2136
*
isglotzer@umich.edu
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Abstract

Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) based materials are a class of organic/inorganic hybrid nanomaterials with many interesting properties. Recent experiments have demonstrated that self-assembly of tethered POSS nanocubes is a promising route to the synthesis of novel materials with highly ordered, complex nanostructures. Using a coarsegrained model developed for tethered POSS, we perform molecular simulations of POSS molecules tethered by short polymers to investigate how the novel architecture of these hybrid building blocks can be exploited to achieve useful structures via self-assembly. We systematically explore the parameters that control the assembly process and the resulting equilibrium structures, including concentration, temperature, tethered POSS molecular topology, and solvent conditions. We report preliminary results of lamellar and cylindrical structures that are typically found in conventional block copolymer and surfactant systems, but with interesting modifications of the phase behavior caused by the bulkiness and cubic geometry of the POSS molecules.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 847: Symposium EE – Organic/Inorganic Hybrid Materials , 2004 , EE13.12
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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References

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