Electrostatic Assembly with Poly(ferrocenylsilanes)

New frontiers in polymer science involve the incorporation of functional species into material systems. The electrostatic layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly technique constitutes a versatile tool for nano- and microscale fabrication of devices and novel material structures. Although a rapidly growing attention has been paid to this area, most of the studies conducted were based on organic polymeric electrolytes. Due to synthetic developments, new polymeric structures with inorganic elements and transition metals incorporated in the main chain have become accessible. With the development of new synthesis routes, organometallic poly(ferrocenylsilane) polycations and polyanions emerged. Their charged nature and water-solubility made them excellent candidates for the extension of electrostatic multilayer assembly to organometallic polymeric materials. The present review gives a concise summary on the LBL fabrication of organometallic thin films and microcapsules based on water-soluble poly(ferrocenylsilane) polyions. The unique functions of these structures come from the molecular structure of poly(ferrocenylsilanes), in which silicon atoms and redox-active ferrocene units are present. In this context, the diverse application potentials of these organometallic multilayer structures are also discussed