Synthesis, Self-Assembly, and Properties of Homoarm and Heteroarm Star-Shaped Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Polymers with a POSS Core

Novel homoarm and heteroarm star-shaped inorganic-organic hybrid polymers with a polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) core are prepared via click chemistry of azide POSS [POSS-(N-3)(8)], alkynyl poly(L-lactide) (PLLA), and alkynyl poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO). The melting and crystallization behaviors of the polymers can be adjusted by altering the PLLA to PEO ratio. The hybrid polymers reveal unique crystalline morphology due to the influence of the star-shaped structure and the mutual influence of PLLA and PEO. The hybrid polymers show different thermostabilities, owing to the different compositions of the polymers. The hydrophilicity can be adjusted by alternating the composition of the PLLA and PEO segments. In addition, the sizes of the polymer micelles change with the change of the ratio of PLLA and PEO arms in the hybrid polymers.