Evidence for stereoregulations in the polymerisation of phenylsilane by bis (indenyl)dimethylzirconium complexes

Bis(indenyl)dimethylzirconocene, 1 , and [1,2-bis(indenyl)ethane]dimethylzirconocene, 2 , both catalyze the dehydropolymerization of phenylsilane to a mixture of low molecular weight cyclic oligosilanes (PhSiH)n (n = 6-9). The limited number of sharp resonances in the 29 Si and 1 H NMR spectra of the polymer produced with 2 as catalyst indicates that the catalyst exerts a significant stereoregulating influence on the polymerization. Keywords: polysilanes, catalytic dehydrocoupling, stereoregulation, bis(indenyl)zirconium complexes.