Methods in selenium chemistry iv. synthetic approaches to polydiselenides

TLDR: Some synthetic approaches used to generate a variety of aliphatic, benzylic and aromatic oligomers and polymers with the general formula (RSe2) designated as polydiselenides and characterized by having a selenium-selenium bond per monomer unit as an integral part of the backbone are discussed.

Abstract: The remarkable photoelectric properties of elemental selenium form the basis for the major industrial application of this element in xerographic photoreceptors. The physics of the photoexcitation and electrical charge transport phenomena has been the subject of numerous investigations, but little is known about the molecular basis of the photoelectric effect. Since the element consists of linear sequences of selenium atoms, variously assembled into cyclic structures and polymer chains, it seemed of interest to investigate model polymers that contained organic residues interspersed between short selenium chains. Such species might then combine various desirable properties of selenium with those of organic polymers. In this paper we shall discuss some synthetic approaches used to generate a variety of aliphatic, benzylic and aromatic oligomers and polymers with the general formula (RSe2). , all designated as polydiselenides and characterized by having a selenium-selenium bond per monomer unit as an integral part of the backbone. The discussion of polymer properties will be restricted to data incidental to their structural identification.