Poly(silylene)s: Charge carrier photogeneration and transport

Poly(diorganylsilylene)s can be excited within the framework of Si bonds in the polymer backbone as well as within a side group skeleton. An electron transfer from the main chain to a side group or an interchain electron tran sfer is necessary to form a quasi-stable ion-pair. Dissociation of the ion- pair in the external electric field can be described in terms of the Onsage r theory of geminate recombination. The charge carrier transport proceeds p redominantly along c-delocalized Si backbone with participation of intercha in hopping and polaron formation. A model of disordered polarons seems to b e adequate to describe the charge carrier transport properties. Copyright ( C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.