Dodecamethylcyclohexasilane is the
organosilicon compound
Organosilicon compounds are organometallic compounds containing carbon–silicon bonds. Organosilicon chemistry is the corresponding science of their preparation and properties. Most organosilicon compounds are similar to the ordinary organic c ...
with the formula . It is one of the more readily prepared and easily handled
polysilane
Polysilanes are organosilicon compounds with the formula (R2Si)n. They are relatives of traditional organic polymers but their backbones are composed of silicon atoms. They exhibit distinctive optical and electrical properties. They are mainly use ...
s. Dodecamethylcyclohexasilane is produced by reduction of
dimethyldichlorosilane
Dimethyldichlorosilane is a tetrahedral, organosilicon compound with the formula Si(CH3)2Cl2. At room temperature it is a colorless liquid that readily reacts with water to form both linear and cyclic Si-O chains. Dimethyldichlorosilane is made ...
with
sodium-potassium alloy:
:
where M is
Na or
K. The reaction also produces polydimethylsilane and decamethylpentasilane.
The chair conformer was confirmed by
X-ray crystallography
X-ray crystallography is the experimental science determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline structure causes a beam of incident X-rays to diffract into many specific directions. By measuring the angles ...
.
Reactions
Dodecamethylcyclohexasilane reacts with
potassium ''tert''-butoxide to give the potassium derivative:
:{{chem2, (CH3)12Si6 + KOC(CH3)3 → K(CH3)11Si6 + CH3OC(CH3)3
References
Carbosilanes
Silanes