Lose an Alkene and Gain a Polymer

Significance

Silicon has a special place in polymer design. The longer bonds of organosilanes relative to carbon skeletons give rise to more conformationally flexible backbones. Silicon atoms also are more effective at delocalization of electrons than their saturated carbon counterparts and hence these groups are capable of imparting desirable properties to conjugated (electronic) polymers. This contribution reports a very effective synthesis using interesting organometallic catalysis to produce a new class of conjugated polymers.