Preparation and characterization of novel electrospinnable PBT/POSS hybrid systems starting from c-PBT

Novel hybrid systems based on poly(butyleneterephthalate) (PBT) and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) have been prepared by applying the ring-opening polymerization of cyclic poly(butyleneterephthalate) oligomers. Two types of POSS have been used: one characterized by hydroxyl functionalities (named POSS-OH) and another without specific reactive groups (named oib-POSS). It was demonstrated that POSS-OH acts as an initiator for the polymerization reaction, leading to the direct insertion of the silsesquioxane into the polymer backbone. Among the possible applications of the PBT/POSS hybrid system, the possibility to obtain nanofibers has been assessed in this work.