INOR 489

Controlled hydrolysis reactions of chlorodimethyltin(IV) derivatives of strong acid [HOTeF₅ and HN(SO₂CF₃)₂] show different condensation pathways. Whereas the teflate derivative shows condensation followed by dimerization, the bis(trifluorosulfonylimide) derivatives only shows dimerization. In a different class of compounds, namely perfluoroalkylchlorosilanes, the hydrolysis is extremely slow but it results in the formation of variety of cages and 2-dimensional networks. Hydrolysis of the corresponding alkoxy derivatives works very efficiently with the formation of Si₈O₁₂ (T₈) cages as major products. These compounds are hydrophobic nano particles. In case of smaller fluoroalkyl chains i.e., CH₂CH₂CF₃, only T₁₀ and T₁₂ cages are formed as major products. We have developed an alternate corner-capping strategy to produce pure T₈ cages containing fluoropropyl groups, which was not possible by conventional hydrolysis process. The fluorinated POSS materials are characterized by multinuclear NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁹F, ²⁹Si) as well as X-ray crystallography. In addition, a high degree of water and oil repellency was observed for these solids as determined by sessile drop analysis.