Hybrid organic–inorganic nanocomposite: Fluorinated poly-(2,5-thienylbenzobisoxazole)/POSS and its properties

• It is first time to report PBOT/POSS nanocomposites.
• POSS are highly homogeneously dispersed in the PBOT matrix in the nanocomposites.
• The incorporation of POSS into PBOT matrix can improve the quantum yield of PBOT.
• The dielectric constants of nanocomposites decreases with the increase of POSS content.

This article reports the in situ preparation of fluorinated poly-(2,5-thienylbenzobisoxazole)/polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (6FPBOT/POSS) nanocomposites and their chemical and physical properties. POSS participated in the polymerization reaction and thus led to the homogenous dispersion of POSS nanoparticles in the 6FPBOT matrix. The structures and morphology of the obtained nanocomposites were fully characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, wide-angle X-ray scattering, thermogravimetric analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. The nanocomposites exhibited excellent thermal stability. The introduction of POSS evidently increased the mechanical properties (tensile strength and tensile modulus) of the nanocomposites and significantly enhanced the quantum yield of 6FPBOT by reducing the degree of interchain aggregation. The dielectric constants of the nanocomposites decreased with increasing POSS content. The dielectric constant of the materials decreased from 2.56 for the 6FPBOT to 2.11 for the 6FPBOT–POSS nanocomposite with 5% POSS.

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