Carbosilanes are
organosilicon compound
Organosilicon chemistry is the study of organometallic compounds containing carbon–silicon bonds, to which they are called organosilicon compounds. Most organosilicon compounds are similar to the ordinary organic compounds, being colourless, f ...
s where the structures feature alternating silicon and carbon atoms, i.e., linkages. They represent molecular analogues of
silicon carbide
Silicon carbide (SiC), also known as carborundum (), is a hard chemical compound containing silicon and carbon. A wide bandgap semiconductor, it occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite, but has been mass-produced as a powder a ...
. The compounds exploit the tendency of both carbon and silicon to form tetrahedral structures. The inventory of carbosilanes is large.
Synthesis and structure
The compounds originally were obtained as products of the
pyrolysis
Pyrolysis is a process involving the Bond cleavage, separation of covalent bonds in organic matter by thermal decomposition within an Chemically inert, inert environment without oxygen. Etymology
The word ''pyrolysis'' is coined from the Gree ...
of simple organosilicon precursors such as the
methylsilanes. More efficient precursors contain premade {{chem2, \sSi\sC\sSi\sC\s subunits.
References