SYNTHESIS AND PROPERTIES OF POLYSILANES BEARING FUNCTIONAL SUBSTITUENTS AND THEIR POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS

Polysilanes bearing various functional substituents are reviewed. Amino, ammonium, nitro and alkoxy moieties are introduced by direct synthesis from their corresponding monomers or by post-reactions of the parent polysilanes. The synthesis of high molecular weight polysilanes bearing hydroxy groups is reported in detail. Fabrication of oriented polysilane Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films, crosslinking reactions of the polysilane LB films, ultrafine gold-particle-polysilane-film composites, and the resist and other properties that are exhibited by the functional polysilanes are reviewed.