Structural effects of TiO2 nanoparticles in photocurable ladder-like polysilsesquioxane nanocomposites

Ladder-like polysilsesquioxanes (LPSQs) are characterized by a double-stranded siloxane backbone, whose chemical and structural properties depend on both the synthesis parameters and the nature of the organic side-chains. In the case of ladder-like (methacryloxypropyl) polysilsesquioxanes (LPMASQ), polymer matrices can be produced by exploiting the presence of photocurable methacrylate groups. Consequently, they can be used to prepare functional nanocomposites (NCs), either by blending with organic polymers such as polybutadiene or exploiting the inorganic fillers’ dispersion. Since the properties of LPMASQ-based NCs are strongly related to their structure, the structural changes of polymerized LPMASQ were investigated upon addition of low loadings of TiO2 nanoparticles (up to 3 wt