Synthesis of a "Butterfly Cage" Based on a Double-Decker Silsesquioxane

Rungthip Kunthom; Takuto Adachi; Yujia Liu; Nobuhiro Takeda; Masafumi Unno; Ryoji Tanaka

doi:10.1002/asia.201901361

Synthesis of a "Butterfly Cage" Based on a Double-Decker Silsesquioxane

Chem Asian J. 2019 Dec 2;14(23):4179-4182. doi: 10.1002/asia.201901361. Epub 2019 Nov 28.

Authors

Rungthip Kunthom¹, Takuto Adachi², Yujia Liu¹, Nobuhiro Takeda¹, Masafumi Unno¹, Ryoji Tanaka²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Gunma University, Kiryu, 376-8515, Gunma, Japan.
² Inorganic Materials Chemistry Group, Sagami Chemical Research Institute, Ayase, 252-1193, Kanagawa, Japan.

PMID: 31691478
DOI: 10.1002/asia.201901361

Abstract

Novel polyhedral structures were prepared with a butterfly-shape composed of oligosiloxane wings and a double-decker silsesquioxane (DDSQ) body. The compounds were synthesized in two steps from commercially available alkoxysilanes, and their structures were confirmed using spectroscopic methods and X-ray crystallography. Not like other phenyl-substituted cage silsesquioxanes, these butterfly cages show very good solubility in common organic solvents. The crystal structures clearly showed their unique features: a larger space with longer siloxane chains and a very flexible framework. Moreover, these compounds are thermally stable with a Td₅ (5 % weight loss temperature) over 320 °C.

Keywords: Cage compounds; Double-decker silsesquioxane; Materials science; Silicon; Structure elucidation.

Grants and funding

P14003/New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization