Trehalose-incorporated organic–inorganic hybrid nanocomposites produced by thiol-ene photopolymerization

Abstract

Thiol-ene photopolymerizations of isocyanurate-based trithiol (S3I) / mercaptopropyl-substituted random-type polysilsesquioxane (SQ) and allyl-etherified trehalose (AxT) with a degree of allylation, x = 6 or 8, which was prepared by the reaction of α,α-D-trehalose and allyl bromide, produced trehalose-incorporated organic-inorganic hybrid nanocomposites (AxT-S3I/SQy) with a SQ content, y =10 or 20 (wt%). All of the photo-cured hybrid films exhibited high transparency to visible light. FT-IR spectral analysis revealed the progress of thiol-ene photopolymerization. The thermal properties (glass transition and 5% weight loss temperatures) and mechanical properties (tensile strength and modulus) of the hybrids were much improved by the incorporation of SQ.