Silicon tetraiodide is the
chemical compound
A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...
with the formula
Si I4. It is a tetrahedral molecule with Si-I bond lengths of 2.432(5) Å.
SiI
4 is a precursor to silicon amides of the formula Si(NR
2)
4 (R = alkyl). It has also been of interest in the manufacture and etching of silicon in
microelectronics
Microelectronics is a subfield of electronics. As the name suggests, microelectronics relates to the study and manufacture (or microfabrication) of very small electronic designs and components. Usually, but not always, this means micrometre-sc ...
.
Reactions
This compound is stable among strong heating. It can be stored at room temperature for long periods but must be kept dry because it reacts quickly with water and moisture in the air.
It can be made on a large scale by reaction of silicon or
silicon carbide with iodine on heating to about 200 °C. Of more academic interest is the reaction of
silane with iodine vapour at 130 - 150 °C, as this produces a series of compounds ranging from
iodosilane
Iodosilane is a chemical compound of silicon, hydrogen, and iodine. It is a colorless monoclinic crystal of space group P21/c at −157 °C.
Preparation
Iodosilane is the first product of the reaction between monosilane and iodine, the other ...
SiH
3I to
diiodosilane SiH
2I
2 and
triiodosilane SiHI
3 as well. These compounds are colourless liquids at room temperature.
The last one can be readily distinguished from the similar carbon compound,
iodoform which is a yellow solid at room temperature.
Comparison with other SiX4 compounds
References
External links
webelements page
Iodides
Inorganic silicon compounds
Nonmetal halides
{{inorganic-compound-stub