From Molecular Cages to Functional Devices: Silsesquioxane Hybrid Platforms for Next-Generation Electronic Materials

Information from the abstract

Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) and related silsesquioxanes provide an atomically precise platform for organic–inorganic hybrid electronics. Existing reviews mainly address synthesis, functionalisation, and application breadth; comparatively few connect molecular architecture to electronic function and benchmark the resulting devices against contemporary non-POSS records. This review is organised around that structure–property–device relationship. Each cage class—closed T8/T10/T12 cages, open-cage and double-decker frameworks, Janus cubes, ladder polymers, and ionic or fluorinated derivatives—is paired with the electronic function it enables; reported figures of merit are compared with current field records, and unresolved contradictions, trade-offs, and manufacturing barriers are stated explicitly. Device classes surveyed include light emission (OLEDs, perovskite LEDs, quantum-dot LEDs, and white LEDs), thin-film transistors and interlayer dielectrics, organic, perovskite, and dye-sensitised photovoltaics, and emerging platforms in memory, chemosensing, flexible electronics, and thermal management. We conclude that encapsulation resins, nanocrystal surface modifiers, and low-k dielectric formulations appear among the most promising candidates for translation beyond laboratory-scale demonstrations. Machine-learning-guided cage design, mixed-architecture networks, and fluorine-free routes to hydrophobicity are identified as the most credible routes to closing the remaining gaps.

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Related topics: Silicone and Siloxane Chemistry · Mesoporous Materials and Catalysis · Synthesis and characterization of novel inorganic/organometallic compounds