Abstract
Abstrw - A series of blends at molecular level dispersion between an organic polymer and metal oxide (mainly silica) are described. These blends are called "organic- inorganic polymers hybrids". The dimension of dispersion of "hybrids" is much smaller than that of the so-called "composites". The most suitable organic polymers for the formation of hybrids are those which consist of repeating unit containing N-alkyl and N, N-dialkyl carboxylamide groups "amide polymers". Blending of various combinations between organic polymers and inorganic materials has been very useful for the exploration of new materials having unique properties and specific performances. They are called by a general term of "composites", which are usually heterogeneous materials. For example, an inorganic material such as silica in the form of particle is dispersed in a matrix of organic polymer. This lecture is concerned with a new family of homogeneous transparent glass materials in which organic polymers and inorganic materials are blended with each other by mutual dispersion at molecular dimension (1). They are termed "hybrids" in order to be differentiated from "composite". "Composites" and "hybrids" differ from each other in respect to the dimension of dispersion. This lecture describes the following items about hybrids.