Polymerization of 1-Butyl-2-Trimethylsilylacetylene by Transition Metal Catalysts

Abstract

New silicon-containing disubstituted polyacetylene was prepared by the polymerization of BTMSA having two bulky substituents (n-butyl and trimethylsilyl) using transition metal catalysts. The polymerization proceeded in a mild manner and the final polymer yield was generally lower than those of silicon-containing monosubstituted acetylenes by the similar catalyst system. The characterization on the polymer structure revealed that the resulting poly(BTMSA) have a conjugated backbone system, but the polymers have peculiar copolymer composition of poly-(BTMSA) and poly(1-hexyne) due to the spontaneous desilylation during the polymerization. The fluoride-ion induced desilylation of poly(BTMSA) using n-Bu 4 N + F -in THF yielded a completely desilylated product, pure poly(1-hexyne).