Structure and properties of low-dielectric-constant poly(acetoxystyrene-co-octavinyl-polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane) hybrid nanocomposite

Low-dielectric-constant poly(acetoxystyrenezhi-co-octavinyl-polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane) (PAS–POSS) organic–inorganic hybrid nanocomposite was successfully synthesized via one-step free radical polymerization and characterized by FTIR, high-resolution 1H NMR, 29Si NMR, DSC, TGA, AFM, spectroscopic ellipsometry and dielectric constants measurements. The results show Tg and Tdec were elevated dramatically due to the incorporation of inorganic POSS cores. Spectroscopic ellipsometry and dielectric constants measurement display the incorporation of POSS into PAS homopolymer can apparently reduce the dielectric constant of materials due to the increase of relative porosity of the hybrid nanocomposites.