Nanostructuring of Ionic Bridged Silsesquioxanes

The transformation by hydrolysis/condensation of four new mesityl‐(bis or tris)imidazolium‐based alkoxysilane precursors into their corresponding bridged silsesquioxanes has been investigated. These precursors feature urea groups and either short or long alkylene chains, which are known to favor self‐assembly. The most regular nanostructures were obtained by a combination of the tripodal precursors with C10H20 alkylene chains, as shown by powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis, independent of the reaction conditions. Tidy up! Organosilicas that feature imidazolium units tend to self‐organize during the sol–gel process thanks to the self‐assembly of long alkylene chains.