Mesostructured fluorocarbon–silica hybrid materials with a low dielectric constant

The properties of a fluorocarbon–silica hybrid prepared by sol–gel hydrolytic polycondensation using a non-ionic fluorocarbon surfactant as a structure-directing agent are studied by small angle X-ray scattering, scanning electron microscopy, 29Si MAS-NMR, thermogravimetric analysis and dielectric relaxation. The obtained hybrid material consists mainly of micron-sized spherical particles with an internal two-dimensional hexagonal (p6mm) nanostructure. The material is thermally stable (with a high proportion of fully cross-linked silica) and shows a very low dielectric constant (about 2.15), which can be interesting from the point of view of applications.