Difluorosilane is a gaseous chemical compound with formula SiH
2F
2. It can be considered as a derivative of
silane
Silane is an inorganic compound with chemical formula, . It is a colourless, pyrophoric, toxic gas with a sharp, repulsive smell, somewhat similar to that of acetic acid. Silane is of practical interest as a precursor to elemental silicon. Sila ...
with two hydrogen atoms replaced with
fluorine
Fluorine is a chemical element with the symbol F and atomic number 9. It is the lightest halogen and exists at standard conditions as a highly toxic, pale yellow diatomic gas. As the most electronegative reactive element, it is extremely reacti ...
.
Production
Difluorosilane can be made by fluorinating
dichlorosilane
Dichlorosilane, or DCS as it is commonly known, is a chemical compound with the formula H2SiCl2. In its major use, it is mixed with ammonia (NH3) in LPCVD chambers to grow silicon nitride in semiconductor processing. A higher concentration of DCS ...
with
antimony trifluoride
Antimony trifluoride is the inorganic compound with the formula SbF3. Sometimes called Swarts' reagent, is one of two principal fluorides of antimony, the other being SbF5. It appears as a white solid. As well as some industrial applications, i ...
.
:3 SiH
2Cl
2 + 2 SbF
3 → 3 SiH
2F
2 + 2 SbCl
3
Some is also made in a reaction of
silicon tetrafluoride
Silicon tetrafluoride or tetrafluorosilane is a chemical compound with the formula Si F4. This colorless gas is notable for having a narrow liquid range: its boiling point is only 4 °C above its melting point. It was first prepared in 1771 ...
with
hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...
:SiF
4 + 2 H
2 → SiH
2F
2 + 2 HF
Traces of difluorosilane are made when coal is burnt.
Properties
Difluorosilane is a gas with boiling point −77.8 °C, and a freezing point of −122 °C. It has no colour. The silicon–fluorine bond length in difluorosilane is 1.358 Å which is greater than that in
fluorosilane but less than the length in
trifluorosilane.
Reactions
In an
electric discharge
An electric discharge is the release and transmission of electricity in an applied electric field through a medium such as a gas (ie., an outgoing flow of electric current through a non-metal medium).American Geophysical Union, National Research C ...
, hydrogen atoms are preferentially removed from the molecule and SiHF
2SiHF
2 is formed along with hydrogen.
[
:2 SiH2F2 → SiHF2SiHF2 + H2
At elevated temperatures, difluorosilane can disproportionate by swapping hydrogen and fluorine atoms between molecules to form fluorosilane and trifluorosilane.][
]
Use
Difluorosilane is used in dental varnish in order to prevent tooth cavities.
Difluorosilane is also used in chemical vapour deposition
Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a vacuum deposition method used to produce high quality, and high-performance, solid materials. The process is often used in the semiconductor industry to produce thin films.
In typical CVD, the wafer (substra ...
to deposit silicon nitride
Silicon nitride is a chemical compound of the elements silicon and nitrogen. is the most thermodynamically stable and commercially important of the silicon nitrides, and the term "silicon nitride" commonly refers to this specific composition. It ...
films.
References
{{Reflist
Fluorine compounds
Silicon compounds
Gases