Supramolecular design for polymer/titanium oxo-cluster hybrids: an open door to new organic–inorganic dynamers

Abstract

Hybrid materials from organic polymers and inorganic solids often possess enhanced properties compared to their isolated constituents, if intimate mixing is achieved. We report a new approach combining inorganic nanobuilding blocks and supramolecular interactions, exemplified by a titanium oxo-cluster bearing four hydrogen bond acceptors and a telechelic PDMS with two hydrogen bond donors. With these simple components, we demonstrate that well chosen supramolecular interactions can be used to obtain new hybrid dynamers having the intrinsic properties of the inorganic component (such as photochromism) and improved mechanical properties, due to the supramolecular cross-linking of the polymer chains.