Effect of the linear siloxane chain in cyclic silsesquioxane (CSSQ) on the mechanical/electrical property of the thin films

Several kinds of cyclic silsesquioxane (CSSQ) precursors containing linear siloxane chain were prepared to improve both the mechanical properties of their thin films and the compatibility with heptakis (2,3,6-tri-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin (tCD) as a porogen. The precursors were synthesized using a hydrolysis/condensation reaction with 2,4,6,8-tetramethyl-2,4,6,8-tetra (trimethoxysilylethyl) cyclotetrasiloxane (cyclic monomer) and three kinds of linear siloxane monomers. As the linear siloxane chain length increases in the CSSQ precursors, the compatibility between the CSSQ precursor and tCD molecules improved due to the chain flexibility of the precursor. Moreover, the mechanical strength of the CSSQ precursor (4ST37) containing linear tetrasiloxane was the best among the prepared precursors. The enhancement of mechanical property might also be attributed to the content of Si–OH groups as well as the chain flexibility, which could help the crosslinking reaction of Si–OH groups in the film curing process.