Long-Range Order in Non-porous Hybrid Organic–Inorganic Silicon-Based Materials by Sol–Gel Processing

Hybrid organic–inorganic materials with a long-range order organization (see Figure) have been prepared by a classical sol–gel process. Precursors such as (MeO)3Si–R–Si(OMe)3, R being a thermotropic mesogen-like organic group, have been studied and a self-association process in solution between the molecular units during the formation of the Si–O–Si network is found.