Polyhedral Oligmeric Silsesquioxanes (POSS)

as a new kind of organic-inorganic hybrid materials

has attracted great attention in the last decade. With the special cage structure

the polymers incorporating POSS monomers have the simplicity in processing and the excellent comprehensive properties

such as thermal stability

flame retardation

mechanical properties and low dielectric constant. In this paper

the structure and synthesis of POSS

and the mechanism of increasing the flame retardant are described briefly. An overview of the application of POSS in modification of polymer materials to reduce flammability is presented. Additionally

the developing trends of POSS and POSS-based materials in the future are proposed.