Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Materials Based on Nanobuilding Blocks Assembled through Electrostatic Interactions.

Abstract Hybrid copolymers have been prepared by free radical polymerization, in toluene, of methylacrylate (MA) and varying amounts of an organotin oxo-cluster functionalized with two acrylamido groups, {(BuSn)12O14(OH)6}(AMPS)2. The tin based nanobuilding block is fully preserved in the final materials. These copolymers formed networks where the cross-linking is based on the electrostatic interactions that take place between the macrocation {(BuSn)12O14(OH)6}2 + and its two functional anions (AMPS–). Accordingly, these copolymers can yield gels or solutions depending on the solvent used to swell them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]