Synthesis of colorless imide hybrid nanocomposites using amine functionalized oligosiloxane nano-building clusters

Colorless imide hybrid nanocomposites are fabricated using new amine functionalized oligosiloxane nano-building clusters (AONC) and the cross-linking agent 5-(2,5dioxotetrahydrofuryl)- 3-methyl-cyclohexene-1,2-dicarboxylic anhydride (DODCA) or 1,2,3,4-cyclobutanetetracarboxylic dianhydride (CBDA) in order to obtain thermally stable and optically transparent materials. AONC are cross-linked by short diimide bonds which were formed by reaction of AONC with alicyclic dianhydrides and the fabricated nanocomposites have 3- dimensional network structures. The prepared nanocomposites show good thermal stability with 5% weight loss temperature around 430 degrees C and excellent optical properties such as colorlessness (optical transmission of above 90% in the visible region and ultraviolet cut-off around 310 nm), large modulation of refractive index and low birefringence (about 0.002). Colorless imide hybrid nanocomposites prepared from AONC and alicyclic dianhydride (DODCA and CBDA) are potential materials for optical and opto-electronic applications.