Photoreaction of poly(ferrocenylmethylsilane-co-phenylmethylsilane) in solution

The photoreaction of [(FcMeSi)(PhMeSi)n]m in solution, Fc=ferrocenyl=(η5-C5H5)Fe(η5-C5H4), is reported using a coupled gel permeation chromatography/light scattering system. The presence of the ferrocenyl substituent resulted in a significant retardation of the depolymerization process and the process has been monitored in terms of changes in the percent of initial mass, molecular weight, polydispersity and molecular conformation. The results indicate that photo-scission of silicon–silicon bonds occurred preferentially at the polymer chain termini. The results have been compared to those obtained from the photodegradation of poly(phenylmethylsilane) previously reported of approximately the same molecular weight.