Polyfunctional hybrid material

The methods described above correspond to those attainable with conventional sol-gel chemistry. This strategy is simple, low cost, and yields amorphous hybrid materials, which can contain specific organic molecules, biocomponents or polyfunctional cross-linkable polymers (e.g., telechelic polymers). These materials exhibit an infinity of microstructures, can be transparent, and easily shaped as films or bulks (Fig. 2, Route A). However, they are generally poly-disperse in size and locally heterogenous in chemical composition. 

Sharp, K.G. and Michalczyk M.J. (1997) Star gels New hybrid network materials from polyfunctional single component precursors. Journal of Sol-Cel Science and Technology, 8, 541-546. 

Polyfunctional precursors can also be used to design hybrid organic-inorganic materials. Monomers consisting of... 

In Class-II materials components are chemically linked by strong covalent or iono-covalent bonds. The molecules used as starting building blocks possess two distinct functionalities alkoxy groups (R-O-M bonds) and metal-carbon (M-C) links. The alkoxy groups can be formed into an oxo-polymer network by hydrolysis-polycondensation reactions in a sol-gel. Hybrids can be obtained from organically modified silicon alkoxides such as polyfunctional or polymer functionalised alkoxysilanes. The network-forming functionalities can be covalently connected in a sol-gel in several ways ... 

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