Effects of dopants and polymer structures on electrical conductivity of organosilicon polymers

A series of organosilicon polymers comprising disilanylene-phenylene, disilanylene-ethynylene and disilanylene-(bisethynylene-phenylene) chains carrying dibutyl or phenyl and methyl groups as side chains, and polysilanes carrying alkyl, aromatic or heteroaromatic side chains were synthesized. The electrical conductivities of their polymers doped with electron acceptors such as I2, FeCl3 and SbF5 were measured by using vapor-phase doping. The electrical conductivities of organosilicon polymers doped with I2 showed a good correlation with the ionization potentials of the original polymers. In contrast, in the case of SbF5 doping, the degradation of polymers occurred and every polymer gave the same order of conductivity, 10−4−10−3 S/cm. The polymers carrying heteroaromatic substituents gave the higher conductivity by doping with I2, while in the case of the polymers carrying phenyl groups, the conductivity was enhanced by doping with FeCl3.