Dichlorodimethylsilane

Dichlorodimethylsilane is a tetrahedral, organosilicon compound with the molecular formula Si(CH3)2Cl2. The compound is a colorless liquid at room temperature, has a pungent odor and readily reacts with water to form both cyclic and linear Si-O chains. On an industrial scale, dichlorodimethylsilane is manufactured as the main precursor to polysilane and dimethylsilicone compounds.

James Crafts and Charles Friedel are American chemists who first reported organosilicon compounds in 1863 by synthesizing tetraethylsilane from silicon tetrachloride and diethylzinc. Nevertheless, major progress in organosilicon chemistry occurred when Fredrick Kipping and his students reacted tetrachloride with Grignard reagents to produce diorganodichlorosilanes (R2SiCl2), which they used for their experiments. The dpemand for silicones increased in the 1930s as many aircraft companies needed better insulators for sealing materials and electric motors for aircraft engines; therefore, there was need for efficient synthesis of dichlorodimethylsilane.

Dichlorodimethylsilane is prepared by passing methyl chloride through a heated tube packed with copper (I) chloride and ground silicon using Cu2O as the catalyst. Methyl chloride is the passed through a reactor to produce dichlorodimethylsilane.
2 CH3Cl + Si → (CH3)2SiCl2
The other products in this reaction apart from dichlorodimethylsilane include CH3)3SiCl, CH3SiHCl2, and CH3SiCl3, which can be separated fromone another by fractional distillation.

Dichlorodimethylsilane is majorly used in the production of silicones. Moreover, it is utilized in the synthesis of polysilanes, which are the main precursors to silicon carbide. Dichlorodimethylsilane can be used to coat glass to prevent the adsorption of micro-particles.