In organosilicon chemistry, silanes are a diverse class of charge-neutral organic compounds with the general formula SiR4. The R substituents can be any combination of organic or inorganic groups. Most silanes contain Si-C bonds, and are discussed under organosilicon compounds. Some contain Si-H bonds and are discussed under hydrosilanes.
Examples
- Silane SiH
4, the parent. - Binary silicon-hydrogen compounds (which are sometimes called silanes also) includes silane itself but also compounds with Si-Si bonds including disilane and longer chains.
- Silanes with one, two, three, or four Si-H bonds are called hydrosilanes. Silane is again the parent member. Examples: triethylsilane (HSi(C
2H
5)
3) and triethoxysilane (HSi(OC
2H
5)
3). - Polysilanes are organosilicon compounds with the formula (R
2Si)
n. They feature Si-Si bonds. Attracting more interest are the organic derivatives such as polydimethylsilane ((CH
3)
2Si)
n. Dodecamethylcyclohexasilane ((CH
3)
2Si)
6 is an oligomer of such materials. Formally speaking, polysilanes also include compounds of the type (SiH2)n, but these less studied. - Carbosilanes are polymeric silanes with alternating Si-C bonds.
- Chlorosilanes have Si-Cl bonds. The dominant examples come from the Direct process, i.e., (CH3)4-xSiClx. Another important member is trichlorosilane (SiHCl
3). - Organosilanes are a class of charge-neutral organosilicon compounds. Example: tetramethylsilane (Si(CH
3)
4)
By tradition, compounds with Si-O-Si bonds are usually not referred to as silanes. Instead, they are called siloxanes. One example is hexamethyldisiloxane, ((CH
3)
3Si)
2O.
Applications
See compound-specific applications. Commonly:
- Polysilicone production
- PEX crosslinking agent
See also
- Silane quats
- Silanide – Anionic molecule derived from silane
- Silenes – Silicon compounds with an Si=Si bond
References
- Elschenbroich, C. (2016) . Organometallics (3rd ed.). Wiley. ISBN 978-3-527-80514-3.
- Simmler, W. "Silicon Compounds, Inorganic". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a24_001. ISBN 978-3527306732.