Polyimide/silica hybrids via the sol-gel route: High performance materials for the new technological challenges

The present review article describes in detail the state-of-the-art of organic-inorganic hybrid materials based on polyimide/silica components. The article is divided in three parts. In the first the basic processing route for the preparation of these systems is described, i.e. the sol-gel technique, along with the strategies developed to control the final morphology. In the second part the curing characteristics, the dynamic-mechanical and the mechanical and fracture properties of hybrids with different morphologies are reviewed. Finally, the more technologically relevant applications devised for these high performance materials are discussed.