Abstract: A method for disproportionation of an oligohydridosiloxane to produce a polysilsesquioxane compound and an organohydridosilane compound when contacted with a basic catalyst. The basic catalyst can be a tetraalkylammonium hydroxide, an alkali metal hydroxide, and an alkali earth hydroxide. These basic catalysts are generally dissolved in an organic solvent for delivery. The hydroxide catalysts are attractive because many readily decompose by heating above 150° C., thus being easily removed from the final materials. The oligohydridosiloxane is contacted with the basic catalyst under conditions effective to catalytically convert the oligohydridosiloxane into a polysilsesquioxane compound and an organohydridosilane compound. The reaction can occur in either an inert or oxidative atmosphere and can occur without heating, at room temperature. Both polysilsesquioxane foams and gels of the formula (RSiO1.5)n can be produced.

Abstract: A method of making a thermally-removable encapsulant by heating a mixture of at least one bis(maleimide) compound and at least one monomeric tris(furan) or tetrakis(furan) compound at temperatures from above room temperature to less than approximately 90° C. to form a gel and cooling the gel to form the thermally-removable encapsulant. The encapsulant can be easily removed within approximately an hour by heating to temperatures greater than approximately 90° C., preferably in a polar solvent. The encapsulant can be used in protecting electronic components that may require subsequent removal of the encapsulant for component repair, modification or quality control.

Abstract: Cross-linked polymers formed by ring-opening polymerization of a precursor monomer of the general formula R[CH2CH(Si(CH3)2)2O]2, where R is a phenyl group or an alkyl group having at least two carbon atoms. A cross-linked polymer is synthesized by mixing the monomer with a co-monomer of the general formula CH2CHR2(SiMe2)2O in the presence of an anionic base to form a cross-linked polymer of recurring units of the general formula R(Me2SiOCH2CHSiMe2)2[CH2CHR2(SiMe2)2O]n, where R2 is hydrogen, phenyl, ethyl, propyl or butyl. If the precursor monomer is a liquid, the polymer can be directly synthesized in the presence of an anionic base to a cross-linked polymer containing recurring units of the general formula R(Me2SiOCH2CHSiMe2)2. The polymers have approximately less than 1% porosity and are thermally stable at temperatures up to approximately 500° C.

Abstract: A method for preparing encapsulated lipid-bilayer materials in a silica matrix comprising preparing a silica sol, mixing a lipid-bilayer material in the silica sol and allowing the mixture to gel to form the encapsulated lipid-bilayer material. The mild processing conditions allow quantitative entrapment of pre-formed lipid-bilayer materials without modification to the material's spectral characteristics. The method allows for the immobilization of lipid membranes to surfaces. The encapsulated lipid-bilayer materials perform as sensitive optical sensors for the detection of analytes such as heavy metal ions and can be used as drug delivery systems and as separation devices.

Abstract: A dried gel material sterically entrapping nanoclusters of a catalytically active material and a process to make the material via an inverse micelle/sol-gel synthesis. A surfactant is mixed with an apolar solvent to form an inverse micelle solution. A salt of a catalytically active material, such as gold chloride, is added along with a silica gel precursor to the solution to form a mixture. To the mixture are then added a reducing agent for the purpose of reducing the gold in the gold chloride to atomic gold to form the nanoclusters and a condensing agent to form the gel which sterically entraps the nanoclusters. The nanoclusters are normally in the average size range of from 5-10 nm in diameter with a monodisperse size distribution.

Abstract: A process for manipulating the porosity of silica using a series of organic template groups covalently incorporated into the silicate matrix. The templates in the bridged polysilsesquioxanes are selectively removed from the material by oxidation with oxygen plasma or other means, leaving engineered voids or pores. The size of these pores is dependent upon the length or size of the template or spacer. The size of the templates is measured in terms of Si-Si distances which range from about 0.67 nm to 1.08 nm. Changes introduced by the loss of the templates result in a narrow range of micropores (i.e. <2 nm). Both aryl and alkyl template groups are used as spacers. Novel microporous silica materials useful as molecular seives, dessicants, and catalyst supports are produced.