Multifunctional mesoporous ionic gels and scaffolds derived from polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes

A new methodology for fabrication of inorganic-organic hybrid ionogels and scaffolds is developed through facile cross-linking and solution extraction of a newly developed ionic polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane with inorganic core. Through design of various cationic tertiary amines, as well as cross-linkable functional groups on each arm of the inorganic core, high-performance ionogels are fabricated with excellent electrochemical stability and unique ion conduction behavior, giving superior lithium ion battery performance. Moreover, through solvent extraction of the liquid components, hybrid scaffolds with well-defined, interconnected mesopores are utilized as heterogeneous catalysts for the CO2-catalyzed cycloaddition of epoxides. Excellent catalytic performance, as well as highly efficient recyclability are observed when compared to other previous literature materials.