Can an intact and crystalline octakis(methacryloxypropyl) silsesquioxane be prepared by hydrolysis-condensation of a trimethoxysilane precursor?

We explore in detail what exactly the structure of octakis(methacryloxypropyl) silsesquioxane is. The study was performed by carrying out a modified hydrolysis-condensation of (3-methacryloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane. And pure cube-like octakis(methacryloxypropyl) silsesquioxane (CMSQ-T8) has been synthesized and isolated with high yields (up to 85%), which is a great improvement on other literature routes. Octakis(methacryloxypropyl) silsesquioxane is a colorless, crystalline solid with a melting point of 69–69.5 °C. The precise structure of the octakis(methacryloxypropyl) silsesquioxane, characterized by 1H NMR, 29Si NMR, Maldi-Tof MS and WAXD is completely reported. Then, the polymerization behaviors of CMSQ-T8 and T10–12 analogues (CMSQ-T10–12) were studied by DSC, UV-vis, and FT-IR. CMSQ-T8 showed a better thermal stability. Due to the high reactivity of methacryloxypropyl, the octakis(methacryloxypropyl) silsesquioxane could be further functionalized to introduce other functionalities, which offers an alternative way to the formation of novel functional cube-like silsesquioxanes.