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 (M_w) of the resulting copolymers was in the range of 1.1 x 10⁵ to 4.9 x 10³.