Organosilicon chemistry
Study of carbon–silicon bond compounds, key to silicones and industry.
Organosilicon chemistry is the study of organometallic compounds containing carbon–silicon bonds, known as organosilicon compounds. Most such compounds are colourless, flammable, hydrophobic, and stable to air, though silicon carbide is considered inorganic. Organosilicon compounds are widely used in commercial products such as antifoamers, caulks, adhesives, and coatings.
- field
- Organometallic chemistry
- key_compounds
- Organosilicon compounds (e.g., silicones, silyl chlorides)
- annual_production
- About 1 million tons of organosilicon compounds
Lore & Background
Frederic S. In recognition of his achievements, the Dow Chemical Company established an award in the 1960s for contributions to silicon chemistry. Rochow described the Müller-Rochow process, a major industrial method.
Reader's Guide
Organosilicon chemistry is significant for its wide-ranging applications in commercial products, including antifoamers, caulks, adhesives, and coatings made from silicones. The field also contributes to agriculture through adjuvants used with herbicides and fungicides, and to medicine via investigated pharmaceuticals and the insecticide silafluofen. Industrially, the direct process produces key methyl chlorosilanes like dimethyldichlorosilane, with about 1 million tons prepared annually. Hydrosilylation is another major method for forming Si–C bonds, using platinum group metal catalysts. The unique bonding of silicon—longer and weaker C–Si bonds, high Si–O bond energy, and susceptibility to nucleophilic attack—underpins many reactions such as the Sakurai reaction and Brook rearrangement. While carbon–silicon bonds are absent in biology, enzymes have been used to create them artificially in living microbes. The legacy of Kipping and Rochow endures in the industrial and synthetic importance of organosilicon compounds.
Did You Know?
- Carbon–silicon bonds are absent in biology, but enzymes have been used to artificially create them in living microbes.
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