silanes
{{short description|Class of organosilicon compounds with the formula SiR4}}
In organosilicon chemistry, silanes are a diverse class of charge-neutral organic compounds with the general formula {{chem2|SiR4}}. The R substituents can be any combination of organic{{cite book |first=C. |last=Elschenbroich |title=Organometallics |publisher=Wiley |edition=3rd |date=2016 |isbn=978-3-527-80514-3 |pages= |url={{GBurl|B_-OCwAAQBAJ|pg=PR9}} |orig-year=2006}} or inorganic groups.{{Ullmann |author=Simmler, W. |title=Silicon Compounds, Inorganic |doi=10.1002/14356007.a24_001}} Most silanes contain Si-C bonds, and are discussed under organosilicon compounds. Some contain Si-H bonds and are discussed under hydrosilanes.
Examples
- Silane {{chem|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 ({{chem|HSi(C|2|H|5|)|3}}) and triethoxysilane ({{chem|HSi(OC|2|H|5|)|3}}).
- Polysilanes are organosilicon compounds with the formula {{chem|(R|2|Si)|n}}. They feature Si-Si bonds. Attracting more interest are the organic derivatives such as polydimethylsilane {{chem|((CH|3|)|2|Si)|n}}. Dodecamethylcyclohexasilane {{chem|((CH|3|)|2|Si)|6}} is an oligomer of such materials. Formally speaking, polysilanes also include compounds of the type {{chem2|(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 ({{chem|SiHCl|3}}).
- Organosilanes are a class of charge-neutral organosilicon compounds. Example: tetramethylsilane ({{chem|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, {{chem|((CH|3|)|3|Si)|2|O}}.
Applications
See compound-specific applications. Commonly:
- Polysilicone production
- PEX crosslinking agent
See also
- Silane quats
- {{Annotated link|Silanide}}
- {{Annotated link|Silenes}}