In organosilicon chemistry, silanes are a diverse class of charge-neutral organic compounds with the general formula . 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 , 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 () and triethoxysilane (). Polysilanes are organosilicon compounds with the formula . They feature Si-Si bonds. Attracting more interest are the organic derivatives such as polydimethylsilane . Dodecamethylcyclohexasilane is an oligomer of such materials. Formally speaking, polysilanes also include compounds of the type , 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 (). Organosilanes are a class of charge-neutral organosilicon compounds. Example: tetramethylsilane ()
By tradition, compounds with Si-O-Si bonds are usually not referred to as silanes. Instead, they are called siloxanes. One example is hexamethyldisiloxane, .
Applications Compound-specific applications are: Polysilicone production PEX crosslinking agent Textile finishing industry Dentistry Integrated in battery materials to longevity Construction materials (Acryloxy Silane)
See also Silane quats
References