Oligo- and polysiloxanes

The article reviews the work on the synthesis, properties, and structure of curious oligo- and polysiloxanes which have been done mainly by the authors, referring the related papers. So far as oligosiloxanes, the topic is especially focused on sila-functional siloxanes as the building block for the synthesis of ladder or cube oligosiloxanes, while the another is the polysiloxanes derived from silicic acid and trimethoxysilanes RSi(OMe)(3) which are able to form fibers and flexible freestanding films. The review also refers to the new routes for the selective synthesis of sila-functional oligosiloxanes in addition to the reaction control based on the relative reactivity of sila-functional groups. Finally, the application of polysiloxanes as the precursors to ceramics, high performance coatings, and interlayer low dielectric materials are described. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.