Spectroscopically tracing the reactions of octahydridosilsesquioxane (H 8 Si 8 O 12 ) with organic molecules

This article studies the reactions and mechanisms of H 8 Si 8 O 12 (T 8 H 8 ) molecules with n‐propanol, acetone, allyl alcohol, n‐butylamine, allylamine, acetic acid, and 1‐octene in air, at room temperature, and without catalysts. The reaction between T 8 H 8 and n‐propanol involves both the highly polarized SiO and SiH bonds and results in cage breakage and forming Q 4 and Q 3 structures with OC 3 H 7 in the reaction product. T 8 H 8 also reacts with acetone, and the resultant product possesses SiOCH(CH 3 ) 2 . Allyl alcohol is less reactive to cause T 8 H 8 decomposition, and the resultant product contains SiOCH 2 CHCH 2 and SiOCH 2 (CH 2 ) 3 CHCH 2 . However, it is found that basically T 8 H 8 does not react with acetic acid and 1‐octene. In the reactions of T 8 H 8 with n‐butylamine and allylamine, the resultant products contain SiNH(CH 2 ) 3 CH 3 and SiNHCH 2 CHCH 2 , respectively. For the reaction with T 8 H 8 , allylamine is less active than n‐butylamine. Possible mechanisms for the T 8 H 8 reactions are discussed.