Polysilanes complex hydrosilanes

Several comprehensive reviews on the preparation, structure, properties, photochemistry, and redistribution of polysilanes prepared by the Wurtz coupling method have been published.1516 31 33 There are also several excellent reviews on the transition-metal-complex-catalyzed dehydrocoupling of hydrosilanes to polysilanes.34 36 The present section reviews the more recent work on the dehydropolymerization of hydrosilanes to polysilanes, catalyzed by transition-metal complexes under homogeneous conditions. Extensions of the methodology to the dehydropolymerization of hydrogermanes, hydrostannanes, and hydrophosphanes to the corresponding polymers are also reviewed. The literature is covered up to early 1997. 

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