Abstract
The synthesis of polymers containing "non-organic" elements has been discussed in the literature, the most exhaustive monographs being those of Andrianov, Nametkin and coworkers, Gefter, and others. There have also been a large number of publications concerning the problem of the synthesis of polymers containing alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, heavy metals, and transition metals.
The present review deals with the most important studies on the synthesis and chemical reactions of metal-containing polymers of various types. Metal-containing polymeric compounds are understood as organometallic polymers with organic principal chains containing a direct carbon–metal bond (regardless of the type of metal), saltlike compounds, in particular those with macromolecule–oxygen–metal bonds, and also complex polymeric compounds containing, for example, coordinated atoms of 3d transition metals.
Wherever possible the reactivities of metal-containing molecules and their low-molecular-weight analogues have been compared. The review mentions unsuccessful attempts to prepare metal-containing macromolecules and their reaction products; the studies where the formation of these compounds was inferred only from the change in the colour of the reaction mixture and also those where the possibility of metallation was admitted merely in principle are not included. In the preceding review on the synthesis of metal-containing polymers, the problems of their reactivity were hardly dealt with owing to the lack of sufficient factual data at the time.
The bibliography includes 111 references.