This award is made in the Office of Special Projects of the Chemistry Division and the Division of Materials Research under the Materials Synthesis and Processing Initiative. Dehydrogenative condensation polymerization of silanes will be studied. The research will focus on learning how to control polymer growth at the metal center, development of new catalysts, and application of the new chemistry to produce functionalized polymers with radically new properties. Hybrid silicon polymers that contain hydrocarbon unsaturation or transition metal centers in the polymer backbone will be made. Dehydrogenative coupling will be extended to other metals such as stannanes to produce new polymers containing tin-tin bonds. %%% Polymers containing redox-active metal centers will provide access to new conducting polymers, magnetically active polymers, macromolecular catalysts or electrode mediator systems.
