Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 7
Design and Thermal Properties
of Interpenetrating and Intercrosslinked
Biosilicate Materials
Andrew J. Vreugdenhil, Christophe Bliard, Shegufa Merchant
and Suresh S. Narine
7.1
Introduction
Silane-based sol-gel chemistry has been a vibrant area of materials and coatings
research over the last 40 years. This area has long been recognized as a promis-
ing and convenient means of synthesizing amorphous materials incorporating both
organic and inorganic functionality. While many important early explorations of
sol-gel science focused on the development of inorganic glasses using one or two
silane precursors, researchers also turned to developing organically modified sili-
con materials (ORMOSILS).[
3
] The advantages of organic-inorganic hybrids were
quickly recognized particularly with respect to their use in the development of flex-
ible, tougher and more chemically diverse materials.
The organic component within the silane generally moderates the mechanical
properties of the material in two possible ways, described in inorganic glass engi-
neering as network modifiers and network formers. First, when the organic com-
ponent is present as one of the four substituents on the silicon centre, it functions
as a terminator or non-participating functional group in the Si-O-Si condensation
