Polyhydridosilanes and their conversion to pyropolymers

Claim 1

An article comprising a solid polymer having a backbone consisting essentially of repeating monomeric units having the formula ##STR8## wherein R is the same or different and is independently selected from the group consisting of (1) hydrogen, (2) a linear, branched, or cyclic aliphatic group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms and optionally containing at least one Periodic Group VA or VIA atom, (3) an aromatic group which is unsubstitued or substituted by up to three C 1 to C 10 linear, branched, or cyclic aliphatic groups, said aromatic or aliphatic groups optically containing at least one Periodic Group VA or VIA atom, the total number of carbon atoms being up to 25, (4) a single bond connecting two silicon atoms, (5) a metal atom selected from the group consisting of Periodic Groups IA and IIA, and (6) an inorgano- and organometallic group comprising at least one Periodic Group IB and VIIB, VIII, Lanthanide or Actinide element, with the proviso that the ratio of hydride to silicon is in the range of 0.3 to 2.2; the average number of monomeric units of said formula in the polymer is in the range of 20 to 4,000, and said polymer being tractable and moisture-sensitive and at least 0.1 gram of said polymer being soluble in 100 grams of tetrahydrofuran at 20° C.