Chain conformation optically active polysilanes

This knowledge and understanding may be helpful to characterize local conformations of other optically active polysilanes in solution. For example, poly(methyl-(-)-(3-pinanylsilane) [(+)-7 Mw = 10,200] prepared by Shinohara and co-workers.281 showed a bisignate CD band at 280 and 303 nm, associated with a broad UV absorption at 300 nm in chloroform at 15°C. Since the spectroscopic features are quite similar to those of i,28d-28e it is possible that the main chain in 7 may contain diastereomeric helical motifs with opposite screw senses and different screw pitches. 

Recently, the first example of chiral solvation of a polysilane was demonstrated dissolution of the inherently optically inactive poly(methylphenylsilyene), PMPS, and poly(hexylmethylsilylene), PHMS, in the optically active solvents (V)-2-methyl-l-propoxybutane and (V)-(2-methylbutoxymethyl)benzene induced the polymer chains to adopt PSS helical conformations as evidenced by (positive-signed) Cotton effects almost coincident with the UV a-a transition at 340 and 305 nm, respectively.332... 

Another interesting chiral chain end effect is exhibited by the helical polymer block co-polymer, poly(l,l-dimethyl-2,2-di-/z-hexylsilylene)- -poly(triphenylmethyl methacrylate), reported by Sanji and Sakurai (see Scheme 7) and prepared by the anionic polymerization of a masked disilene.333 The helical poly(triphenylmethyl methacrylate) block (PTrMA) is reported to induce a PSS of the same sign in the poly(di- -propylsilylene) block in THF below — 20 °C, and also in the solid state, by helicity transfer, as evidenced by the positive Cotton effect at 340 nm, coincident with a fairly narrow polysilane backbone UV absorption characteristic of an all-transoid-conformation. This phenomenon was termed helical programming. Above 20°C, the polysilane block loses its optical activity and the UV absorption shifts to 310 nm in a reversible, temperature-dependent effect, due to the disordering of the chain, as shown in Figure 45. 

Figure 2 shows the UV absorption spectra of four optically active poly (dialkylsilane)s bearing different chiral side groups in THF at 30 °C [45]. It is evident that as the value of a increases from 0.59 to 1.25, the UV absorption intensity increases, whereas the full width at half maximum (fwhm) decreases. These results led to the finding of the semi-empirical relationship between the main chain absorption characteristics and the global conformation of various polysilanes in solution. 

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