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Disilane Cleavage with Selected Alkali and Alkaline Earth Metal Salts
Author(s) -
Santowski Tobias,
Sturm Alexander G.,
Lewis Kenrick M.,
Felder Thorsten,
Holthausen Max C.,
Auner Norbert
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201902722
Subject(s) - chemistry , disproportionation , alkali metal , alkaline earth metal , inorganic chemistry , chlorine , disilane , chloride , anhydrous , organic chemistry , catalysis , silane
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 Si 2 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.