Photoconductive properties of polysilane copolymers with pendant siloxane groups

The oxygen durability of poly(methylphenylsilane) (PMPS) in photoconduction has been improved by the use of copolysilanes with disiloxane-pendant grou ps. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis shows that disiloxane groups of the copolysilanes accumulate on their top-most surface at a much higher concentration than the bulk disiloxane concentration. The preferential cove rage of disiloxane groups on the surface evidently leads to formation of a highly oxygen durable surface. The hole drift mobility of the charge carrie rs in copolysilanes with 5 mol % of disiloxane-pendant groups is over 10(-4 ) cm(2) V-1 s(-1) at E>10(5) V cm(-1), almost comparable to that of PMPS. I t was noted that the practical Xerographic potential decay was stabilized b y the copolysilanes, while PMPS deteriorated after oxygen exposure. (C) 200 0 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)04931-7].