Polysilane conformation

The solid polysilanes are far more complicated than polysilane solutions. Frequently, many different phases can be identified for a single polymer, and the transformations between them may be slow, so that the polysilane conformation and spectroscopic behavior often depends on the thermal history of the sample. The compensating fact is that some additional techniques for studying polysilanes become available in the solid phase, including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and especially X-ray scattering. Nevertheless, the conformations and structures of polysilanes as solids are poorly understood. 

The recent interest in substituted silane polymers has resulted in a number of theoretical (15-19) and spectroscopic (19-21) studies. Most of the theoretical studies have assumed an all-trans planar zig-zag backbone conformation for computational simplicity. However, early PES studies of a number of short chain silicon catenates strongly suggested that the electronic properties may also depend on the conformation of the silicon backbone (22). This was recently confirmed by spectroscopic studies of poly(di-n-hexylsilane) in the solid state (23-26). Complementary studies in solution have suggested that conformational changes in the polysilane backbone may also be responsible for the unusual thermochromic behavior of many derivatives (27,28). In order to avoid the additional complexities associated with this thermochromism and possible aggregation effects at low temperatures, we have limited this report to polymer solutions at room temperature. 

Correlation Between Global Conformation and Optical Characteristics of Polysilanes... 

Although main-chain chirality refers to both polymers with stereogenic centers in the main chain (configurational main-chain chirality) and polymers with main chains consisting of helical stereogenic bonds induced by chiral side groups or end termini (conformational main-chain chirality), in this chapter we mainly focus on polysilanes exhibiting the latter type of chirality. 

Although the main-chain conformations of polysilanes have been described as random coil, 73- (deviant helical), 157 (transoid helical), and 2i (all anti, planar) structures, it is now generally accepted that most polysilanes tend to adopt helical main-chain structures, regardless of side groups and temperature.39 It... 

The conformational mobility of a chromophoric main-chain polymer is often connected to its electronic structure. Therefore, changes in the UV-visible absorption spectra and/or chiroptical properties are spectroscopically observable as thermo-, solvato-, piezo-, or electrochromisms. It is widely reported that o-conjugating polysilanes exhibit these phenomena remarkably clearly.34 However, their structural origins were controversial until recently, since limited information was available on the correlation between the conformational properties of the main chain, electronic state, and (chir)optical characteristics. In 1996, we reported that in various polysilanes in tetrahydrofuran (THF) at 30°C, the main-chain peak intensity per silicon repeat unit, e (Si repeat unit)-1 dm3 cm-1, increases exponentially as the viscosity index, a, increases.41 Although conventional viscometric measurements often requires a wide range of low-dispersity molecular-weight polymer samples, a size exclusion chromatography (SEC) machine equipped with a viscometric detector can afford... 

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. 

As shown in Figure 4.17, these absorption properties mainly depend on the polysilane global conformation (from a shrunk random coil to an extended... 

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