Ionic S(N)i-Si Nucleophilic Substitution in N-Methylaniline-Induced Si-Si Bond Cleavages of Si2Cl6

Theoretical study on the reaction mechanism of Si2Cl6 and HCl catalyzed by amine catalysts

The study of this reaction is of great significance to the treatment of by-products in the polysilicon industry.

Disilane Cleavage with Selected Alkali and Alkaline Earth Metal Salts

The industry-scale production of methylchloromonosilanes in the Müller-Rochow Direct Process is accompanied by the formation of a residue, the direct process residue (DPR), comprised of disilanes Me_n Si₂ Cl_6-n (n=1-6). Great research efforts have been devoted to the recycling of these disilanes into monosilanes to allow reintroduction into the siloxane production chain. In this work, disilane cleavage by using alkali and alkaline earth metal salts is reported. The reaction with metal hydrides, in particular lithium hydride (LiH), leads to efficient reduction of chlorine containing disilanes but also induces disproportionation into mono- and oligosilanes. Alkali and alkaline earth chlorides, formed in the course of the reduction, specifically induce disproportionation of highly chlorinated disilanes, whereas highly methylated disilanes (n>3) remain unreacted. Nearly quantitative DPR conversion into monosilanes was achieved by using concentrated HCl/ether solutions in the presence of lithium chloride.

New Condensation Polymer Precursors Containing Consecutive Silicon Atoms-Decaisopropoxycyclopentasilane and Dodecaethoxyneopentasilane-And Their Sol⁻Gel Polymerization

The sol-gel polymerization of alkoxysilanes is a convenient and widely used method for the synthesis of silicon polymers and silicon-organic composites. The development of new sol-gel precursors is very important for obtaining new types of sol-gel products. New condensation polymer precursors containing consecutive silicon atoms-decaisopropoxycyclopentasilane (CPS) and dodecaethoxyneopentasilane (NPS)-were synthesized for the preparation of polysilane-polysiloxane material. The CPS and NPS xerogels were prepared by the sol-gel polymerization of CPS and NPS under three reaction conditions (acidic, basic and neutral). The CPS and NPS xerogels were characterized using N2 physisorption measurements (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller; BET and Brunauer-Joyner-Halenda; BJH), solid-state CP/MAS (cross-polarization/magic angle spinning) NMRs (nuclear magnetic resonances), TEM, and SEM. Their porosity and morphology were strongly affected by the structure of the precursors, and partial oxidative cleavage of Si-Si bonds occurred during the sol-gel process. The new condensation polymer precursors are expected to expand the choice of approaches for new polysilane-polysiloxane.

Synthesis of Functional Monosilanes by Disilane Cleavage with Phosphonium Chlorides

The Müller-Rochow direct process (DP) for the large-scale production of methylchlorosilanes Me_n SiCl_4-n (n=1-3) generates a disilane residue (Me_n Si₂ Cl_6-n , n=1-6, DPR) in thousands of tons annually. This report is on methylchlorodisilane cleavage reactions with use of phosphonium chlorides as the cleavage catalysts and reaction partners to preferably obtain bifunctional monosilanes Me_x SiH_y Cl_z (x=2, y=z=1; x,y=1, z=2; x=z=1, y=2). Product formation is controlled by the reaction temperature, the amount of phosphonium chloride employed, the choice of substituents at the phosphorus atom, and optionally by the presence of hydrogen chloride, dissolved in ethers, in the reaction mixture. Replacement of chloro by hydrido substituents at the disilane backbone strongly increases the overall efficiency of disilane cleavage, which allows nearly quantitative silane monomer formation under comparably moderate conditions. This efficient workup of the DPR thus not only increases the economic value of the DP, but also minimizes environmental pollution.

The Weakly Coordinating Tris(trichlorosilyl)silyl Anion

Closely following the procedure for the preparation of the base-stabilized dichlorosilylene complex NHC^Dipp ⋅SiCl₂ reported by Roesky, Stalke, and co-workers (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 5683-5686), a few crystals of the salt [NHC^Dipp -H⋅⋅⋅Cl⋅⋅⋅H-NHC^Dipp ]Si(SiCl₃ )₃ were isolated, aside from the reported byproduct [NHC^Dipp -H⁺ ⋅⋅⋅Cl^- ], and characterized by X-ray crystallography (NHC^Dipp =N,N-di(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazo-2-ylidene). They contain the weakly coordinating anion Si(SiCl₃ )₃^- , which was also obtained in high yields upon deprotonation of the conjugate Brønsted acid HSi(SiCl₃ )₃ with NHC^Dipp or PMP (PMP=1,2,2,6,6-pentamethylpiperidine). The acidity of HSi(SiCl₃ )₃ was estimated by DFT calculations to be substantially higher than those of other H-silanes. Further DFT studies on the electronic structure of Si(SiCl₃ )₃^- , including the electrostatic potential and the electron localizability, confirmed its low basicity and nucleophilicity compared with other silyl anions.