Polymerization of 1-butyl-2-trimethylsilylacetylene by transition metal catalysts

New silicon-containing disubstituted polyacetylene was prepared by the poly merization of BTMSA having two bulky substituents (n-butyl and trimethylsil yl) using transition metal catalysts. The polymerization proceeded in a mil d manner and the final polymer yield was generally lower than those of sili con-containing monosubstituted acetylenes by the similar catalyst system. T he characterization on the polymer structure revealed that the resulting po ly(BTMSA) have a conjugated backbone system, but the polymers have peculiar copolymer composition of poly(BTMSA) and poly(1-hexyne) due to the spontan eous desilylation during the polymerization. The fluoride-ion induced desil ylation of poly(BTMSA) using n-Bu4N+F- in THF yielded a completely desilyla ted product, pure poly(1-hexyne).