Recent developments in the synthesis and chemistry of periodic mesoporous organosilicas

Synthetic routes have recently been developed to an entirely new class of organic-inorganic hybrid nanocomposite materials called periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) containing bridging organic groups integrated within a well-ordered mesoporous silica-based framework structure. Some of the interesting properties of these types of materials have been demonstrated but real challenges still remain including the scope of the synthesis approach and breadth of the compositional domain, reactivity and stability of the materials, their chemical and physical, electrical and mechanical properties, as well as potential applications. In this review, we will describe our past and current research concerning new synthetic strategies, unique properties and advantageous features of alkane, alkylene, aromatic, heteroatom-containing, chiral, and star-like organic functional group containing PMOs as advanced materials for diverse applications. Some of the effects of size and kind of organic groups on the order and integrity of the structure of the materials are discussed. Various synthetic routes, such as lithiation, Grignard, hydroboration, Pd-catalysed Heck coupling and alcoholysis reactions that we used to make the molecular poly(trialkoxysilyl)organic precursors are also briefly described.