Preliminary Research for Application of Hydrogen Atom Encapsulated in Cage of Silsesquioxanes

Trimethylsilylated silsesquioxane, Q sub(8)M sub(8) ([(CH sub(3)) sub(3)SiO] sub(8)(SiO sub(1.5)) sub(8)), is a member of the cage-shaped oligosilsesquioxanes with cubic framework called double four-ring (D4R) structure as illustrated in Fig. 1. Upon super(60)Co gamma -ray irradiation at room temperature on Q sub(8)M sub(8), stable hydrogen atom is encapsulated in D4R cage for the period of several years. The encapsulation and stabilization of hydrogen atom in D4R cage were confirmed by ESR spectroscopy. The hydrogen atom encapsulated in D4R cage of silsesquioxane interacts magnetically with paramagnetic oxygen molecules outside D4R cage to change ESR signal intensity and saturation behavior [1].