Palladium-catalyzed hydrosilylation polymerization of dihydrosilanes with diynes affording silylene-divinylene polymers

The Pd-PCy3 (Cy=cyclohexyl) system effectively catalyzed hydrosilylation polymerization of dihydrosilanes with p- or m-diethynylbenzene to give silylene-divinylene polymers with Ph, Me, and/or vinyl substituents at the silicon atoms. The resulting polymers showed characteristic absorption and fluorescence spectra in ultraviolet to visible region. p-Phenylene polymers displayed λmax peaks in longer wavelength region than the corresponding m-phenylene polymers. In TGA, the 5% weight loss temperatures (Td5) ranged from 436 to 501 °C, indicating rather high thermal stability of these polymers. Vinyl group-containing polymers exhibited higher Td5 values and char yields than other polymers.