The dependence was analyzed of the firsl ionization potential l(Si--Si) corresponding to detachment of an electron from the ~(Si--Si) highest occupied molecular orbital on the parameters of organic (X = *%, Et. Bu t . Ph, CH=CH~), inorganic (X = F, CI, Br), and organosilicon (X = SIR.:; R is organic radical) substit~ents in eli-, tri-, and tetrasilanes X:~SiSiX 3. It was fotmd by correlation analysis that out of the tl~ree possible effects of substiments X (the inductive, polarizability, and resonance effects), only the first two of them affect the /(Si--Si) values. This means that no conjugation between the substituent X and the radical cation center occurs in X3Si "e-SiX 3.Key words: linear oligosilanes, ionization potential, radical cations, substituent effi:cts.The electronic structure of linear polysilanes R--(SIR2) --R (n > 2) that currently find a wide field of application has been studied in detail, t-6 Theoretical studies of these compounds are of great importance for re~ealing the peculiarities of the Si--Si chemical bond and tbr sol~ing actual problems of the chemistry, of organoelement compounds (in particular, for development of the modem concept of conjugation in the compounds of the silicon subgroup eiemcntsL According to the current concept, 7 organoelement substituents M R 3 (M = Si, Ge, Sn, Pb: R is organic radical) in R.,MR 3 molecules exhibit simultaneously resonance donor and resonance acceptor properties toward the =-electron centers R= (C6H s, I-I.,C=CH, HC~:C. etc.). The resonance acceptor effect (d-,~-conjugation) is due to the interaction of the vacant nd-orbitals of the M atom and antibonding cs*-orbitals of the M--R bonds with the orbitals of the R, fragment. This effect decreases as the atomic number of the M atom increases, i.e., in the series Si > Ge > Sn > Pb_ The resonance donor effect (o.r~-conjugation), which is due to the interaction of the cs-orbitals of the M--R bonds with the orbitals of the R,. fragment, increases as the number of the M atom increases (Si < Ge < Sn < Pb). In the RxCH2MR 3 molecules, d,~-conjugation is absent, while ~,=-conjugation with R involves the r of the C--M bond of the CHuM fragment. Both resonance effects are present in R SiR2SiR 3 compounds, namely, d,a-conjugation with the ~-electron system <3t" R~, involves the orbitals of the SiR, fragment, while ~,rt-conjugation occurs involving the r of the Si--Si bond. These regularities are characteristic of the abovementioned neutral systems in the ground electron state.At small perturbations, e.g., in the case of the fommtion of a H-complex of the ~-donor center R with an acceptor molecule ('phenol, pyrrole, etc_), the effective negative charge of the R fragment is somewhat decreased (by n = 0.01e), which increases o,=-conjugation. Appreciable decrease (n = O. le) in the negative charge on the R~ substituent (e.g., in tile excited state of rt,r,-type charge-transfer complexes of R~MR 3 and R,CH2M R 3 molecules with tetracyanoethylene) leads to a sharp increase in ~.a-conjugation. v-t~We have developed a ne...