Preparation of Organic/Inorganic Hybrid Material based on Cellulose Nanowhisker and POSS nano cage

In recent years, polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) molecules, the smallest silica particles, have attracted considerable attention since POSS molecules can be used forhybrid organic–inorganic nanocomposites, space-survivable coatings and synthetic templates for nanostructured material[1]. POSS has a compact hybrid structure with an inorganic core made up of silicon and oxygen atoms (SiO1.5)n, with n ¼8, 10, 12, externally surrounded by non-reactive or reactive polymerizable organic ligands Specifically, POSS moieties can be incorporated into polymer systems via polymerization,grafting, blending, and so forth, resulting in dramatic improvement of polymer properties, including glass transitionand degradation temperatures, flammability, mechanical strength, and oxygen permeability [2]. Biobased materials are an important global research topic as there is a genuineinterest and need to decrease society’s dependency on petroleum based products. Cellulose is the most abundantnatural polymer found in nature and considerable interest has been recently focused on finding new material applications for this biopolymer. One of these applications has been the development of cellulose nanocrystals. It is well known that native cellulose, when subjected to strong acid hydrolysis, canbe readily hydrolyzed to micro or nanocrystalline cellulose [3]. The aim of this study was the preparation of organic/inorganic hybrid material based on inexpensive, naturally occurring cellulose nanocrystales and investigation the thermal properties of obtained modified cellulose nanoparticles. To this end, cellulose nanocrystales were prepared and modified with POSS and finally characterized.