Synthesis of silazanylene-vinylene oligomers via catalytic polycondensation of divinyltetramethyldisilazane

Ruthenium (e. g., RuHCl(CO)(PPh3)3 and [RuCl2(CO)3]2) and rhodium complexes (e. g., [RhX(cod)]2, where X = Cl, OSiMe3) appear to be the first effective catalysts for polycondensation of divinyltetramethyldisilazane (I) (ADPOL) to give poly(silazanylene-vinylene)s. Ruthenium catalysts give oligomers (Mw = 2 380, Mw/Mn = 1.21) and a mixture of trans-tactic oligomers, respectively, while rhodium complexes lead to the formation of a mixture of cyclic and linear oligomers.