title: Incompletely condensed fluoroalkyl silsesquioxanes and derivatives: precursors for low surface energy materials.
abstract: A novel synthetic method was developed for the controlled functionalization of fluorinated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (F-POSS), which are useful as low surface energy materials for superhydrophobic and superoleophobic materials. Utilizing triflic acid, open-cage compounds were created and then reacted with a variety of dichlorosilanes to produce functional F-POSS structures possessing alkyl-, aryl-, and acrylate-based moieties. The crystal structure for an endo,endo-disilanol F-POSS compound was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The chemical structures were confirmed using multinuclear NMR spectroscopy ((1)H, (13)C, (19)F, and (29)Si), FT-IR, and combustion analysis. Dynamic contact angle measurements of these compounds were taken with water and hexadecane. These novel structures were found to possess excellent wetting-resistant behavior, similar to that of the parent F-POSS compound. They are the first well-defined fluorinated nano-building blocks with a controlled level of reactive functionality for the development of new superhydrophobic and superoleophobic materials.
authors.affiliation: ERC Inc., Space & Missile Propulsion Division, Edwards Air Force Base, California 93524-7680, USA.
authors.forename: Sean M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Ramirez
authors.forename: Yvonne J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: Rebecca L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: Timothy S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Haddad
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Mabry