Electroreductive Synthesis of Polysilanes, Polygermanes, and Related Polymers with Magnesium Electrodes(1)

J Org Chem. 1999 Sep 3;64(18):6615-6621. doi: 10.1021/jo990180z.

Abstract

The electroreduction of alkylaryldichlorosilane carried out with Mg cathode and anode in a single compartment cell gave high molecular weight poly(alkylarylsilane) (M(n) = 5200-31000, M(w)/M(n) = 1.4-1.8) in 5-79% yield. The effects of electrode material, monomer concentration, amount of supplied electricity, and ultrasound were investigated. This electroreductive method was also successfully applied to the synthesis of polygermanes, silane-geramane copolymers, and also poly[p-(disilanylene)phenylenes].