New type of polysilanes: poly(1,1-silole)s

Poly(1,1-silole)s were synthesized for the first time in 1999, by us and by West and his coworkers, as a new type of polysilane which is expected to have a low-lying LUMO due to the σ*–π*conjugation characteristic of the silole ring. Summarized herein are the development of new synthetic methodologies and the structural aspects, photophysical properties and a unique reactivity of the resulting oligo- and poly(1,1-silole)s.