Silylation of fullerenes with active species in photolysis of polysilane

Organosilicon compounds represent a unique feature of materials such as disilane and polysilane. Meanwhile, since the isolation of C60 and C70 in preparatively useful quantities, much attention has been devoted to chemical functionalization of these new allotropic forms of carbon, which continuously yields fascinating results. It can be expected that a combination of organosilicon compounds and fullerene forms a new class of organic compounds and at the same time opens a new field in material science. In this context, we have carried out the reaction of fullerenes with active species generated in photolysis of disilane and polysilane, by which we can obtain an attractive material and also clarify the chemical and electronic properties of fullerenes. We here summarize the recent advances in the chemistry of mono- and bis-silylation of fullerenes with silylene and silyl radical to afford the corresponding new fullerene-based organosilicon materials.