Soluble polysilane derivatives

In a continuing study of substituent effects on the spectra of polysilane derivatives, we have succeeded in the preparation of the first soluble poly(diarylsilane) homopolymers. Materials of this type have traditionally proved to be insoluble and intractable. Very recently, West and co-workers have reported the preparation of some soluble copolymers which contain diphenylsilylene units (48,49). 

Soluble polysilane derivatives (I) represent a new class of radiation sensitive materials for which a number of new applications have recently appeared. In this regard, they have been utilized as (i) thermal precursors to ceramic materials (2,3) ... 

The observation that more soluble, less crystalline materials containing larger alkyl substituents (6) or aromatic groups (7,8) could be synthesized suggested additional applications for polysilane derivatives. In this regard, West and co-workers have reported that a soluble copolymer 1 produced by the... 

The key intermediates in the process are the silylenes and the radical fragments, both of which should be amenable to trapping experiments. With this in mind, two representative, polysilane derivatives 6 and 9, were irradiated (254 nm) in the presence of excess triethylsilane, and the results of this experiment are shown in Figure 6. Since the polysilane 9 was not soluble in the trapping reagent, it was dissolved in cyclohexane which contained a 100 fold molar excess of triethylsilane. In each case, the major isolable volatile products... 

Miller Radiation Sensitivity of Soluble Polysilane Derivatives... 

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