Trisilane is the silane with the formula H₂Si(SiH₃)₂. A liquid at standard temperature and pressure, it is a silicon analogue of

propane Propane () is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used a ...

. The contrast with propane however trisilane ignites spontaneously in air.

Synthesis

Trisilane was characterized by Alfred Stock having prepared it by the reaction of hydrochloric acid and magnesium silicide. This reaction had been explored as early as 1857 by Friedrich Woehler and Heinrich Buff, and further investigated by Henri Moissan and Samuel Smiles in 1902.

Decomposition

The key property of trisilane is its thermal lability. It degrades to silicon films and SiH₄ according to this idealized equation: :Si₃H₈ → Si + 2 SiH₄ In terms of mechanism, this decomposition proceeds by a 1,2 hydrogen shift that produces disilanes, normal and isotetrasilanes, and normal and isopentasilanes. Because it readily decomposes to leave films of Si, trisilane has been explored a means to apply thin layers of silicon for semiconductors and similar applications. Similarly, thermolysis of trisilane gives silicon nanowires.

References

{{Hydrides by group Silanes Inorganic compounds