Oxidation-reduction alternating copolymerization of stannylenes with p-benzoquinone derivatives

Stannylenes, bis[bis(trimethylsilyl)amido]tin(II) (1) and bis[bis(trimethylsilyl)methyl]tin(II) (2), have been copolymerized with p-benzoquinone derivatives to afford a novel class of tin-containing polymers (4 and 5) having a tetravalent tin unit and a p-hydroquinone unit alternatingly in the main chain. The oxidation state of the stannylenes changes from two to four while the p-benzoquinone moiety is reduced to the corresponding p-hydroquinone unit, indicating that the copolymerization proceeds via a redox process (oxidation-reduction copolymerization). Some of the resulting copolymers are stable at room temperature and soluble in common organic solvents such as chloroform and n-hexane. The molecular weight (Mw) of the resulting copolymers was in the range of 1.1 x 105 to 4.9 x 103.