Organometallic soft materials from the ring-opening polymerization of strained metallocenophanes and related species with π-hydrocarbon ligands

Ring-opening polymerization of a wide variety of strained organometallic rings has allowed the preparation of a variety of new metallopolymers over the past decade or so. The most developed class of materials, polyferrocenylsilanes, has been shown to exhibit interesting properties and a variety of applications as “soft” materials and their study has also led to the discovery of remarkable self-assembly phenomena. This article provides a brief review of some selected recent advances in this interesting area with a focus on the work in the authors group and with their collaborators.