Due to the unique hybrid structures and physical properties of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSSs), hybridation with POSS has been demonstrated to be an important approach to build high-performance organic optoelectronic materials for applications in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), liquid crystal display, sensors and electrochromic devices.

Lightweight flexible carbon nanotube (CNT)/polyaniline (PANI) free standing films having the highest reported specific shielding effectiveness (SSE) of 7.5 × 10⁴ dB cm² g⁻¹ were developed using amine-functionalized CNTs, which could be attributed to the high conductivity (3009 S cm⁻¹) and low density of the amine-functionalized CNT/PANI composites. The mechanism behind the high conductivity is also studied.

High-performance thermoelectric materials with a thermoelectric power factor of 114.5 μW mK⁻² were obtained by using the ternary composite of TiO₂/CNT/PANI.

The use of macro cross-linkers is one of the most effective approaches for developing tough hydrogels. However, the presence of uneven cross-linking and the resulting hydrogel inhomogeneity restrict further improvement. Here, we achieve uniform cross-linking by employing polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)-grafted acrylated polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a cross-linker to enhance the toughness of hydrogels. The nano-sized hard silica core of POSS facilitates energy dissipation, and its dissolved form ensures uniform cross-linking through molecular-level dispersion. The peripheral acrylate groups introduce multiple interacting points, and the physical entanglements of long-chain PEG contribute to enhanced toughness. Incorporating acrylated POSS-PEG into polyacrylamide hydrogel yields enhanced properties such as toughness of up to 6531 kJ m⁻³ and break elongation up to 9455%, where the length of PEG chains grafted onto POSS is demonstrated to play a crucial role in facilitating energy dissipation and achieving high toughness.