POSS-based hybrid nanocomposites

Abstract Hybrid nanocomposites have attracted considerable attention since they could combine superior advantages of two or more nano-fillers. Owing to the multifunctional properties of nano-fillers, they have emerged as a promising new class of materials for high-tech applications. Various nano-fillers including clay, carbon nanotubes, graphene, metal oxides, and polyoctahedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) have been extensively used for the preparation of hybrid nanocomposites. Among them, POSS derivatives have received significant attention due to their precisely defined hybrid structures with a variety of functional groups helping to chemically or physically combine with other nano-fillers to enhance stiffness performance and reduce the electrical conductivity of the material. In this chapter, hybrid nanocomposites prepared by POSS with other one-dimensional nano-clays, two-dimensional graphene and graphene oxides, carbon nanotubes and boron nitrides, and three-dimensional fullerenes, gold, silver, and iron nanoparticles, and titanium and silicon dioxides are explored in detail.