Disilane

 ( Silanes ) 

Disilane is a chemical compound with general chemical formula Si₂R₆ that was first identified in 1902 by Henri Moissan and Samuel Smiles (1877–1953) where R = H. Moissan and Smiles reported disilane as being among the products formed by the action of dilute acids on metal silicides. Although these reactions had been previously investigated by Friedrich Woehler and Heinrich Buff between 1857 and 1858, Moissan and Smiles were the first to explicitly identify disilane. They referred to disilane as silicoethane. Higher members of the homologous series formed in these reactions were subsequently identified by Carl Somiesky (sometimes spelled "Karl Somieski") and Alfred Stock.

At standard temperature and pressure, disilane is a colourless, acrid gas. Disilane and ethane have similar structures, although disilane is much more reactive. Other compounds of the general formula (X = hydrogen, halogen, alkyl, aryl, and mixtures of these groups) are called disilanes. Disilane is a group 14 hydride.

---

Synthesis Disilane is usually prepared by the hydrolysis of magnesium silicide. This reaction produces silane, disilane, and even trisilane. The method has been abandoned for the production of silane, but it remains viable for generating disilane.Barry Arkles "Silicon Compounds, Silanes" in Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1997. DOI: . The presence of traces of disilane is responsible for the spontaneous flammability of silane produced by hydrolysis by this method (analogously diphosphane is often the spontaneously pyrophoricity contaminant in samples of phosphine).

It also arises by thermal decomposition disilane via both photochemical US Patent 4,604,274 and thermal decomposition of silane.

The reduction of with lithium aluminium hydride affords disilane in modest yield.P. W. Schenk "Silanes" in Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry, 2nd Ed. Edited by G. Brauer, Academic Press, 1963, NY. Vol. 1. p. 680.

---

Applications and reactions Disilane and silane thermally decompose around 640 °C, depositing amorphous silicon. This chemical vapor deposition process is relevant to the manufacture of photovoltaic devices. Specifically it is utilized in the production of silicon wafers. Disilane

More generally, diorganosilanes are produced by reductive coupling of , e.g.

Disilane gas can be used to control pressure of Silicon vapors during process of graphene growth by thermal decomposition of Silicon carbide. Pressure of Si vapors influences quality of produced graphene.Mishra, N., Boeckl, J., Motta, N. and Iacopi, F. (2016), Graphene growth on silicon carbide: A review. Phys. Status Solidi A, 213: 2277-2289. doi:10.1002/pssa.201600091 (check page 2280)

Categories: Silanes, Industrial Gases, Substances Discovered In The 1900s, Pyrophoric Materials

Post Comment