Silicon tetrachloride

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Silicon tetrachloride
Names
IUPAC name
Silicon (IV) chloride
Other names
Silicon tetrachloride
Tetrachlorosilane
Identifiers
10026-04-7 YesY
ChemSpider 23201 YesY
EC Number 233-054-0
Jmol 3D model Interactive image
PubChem 24816
RTECS number VW0525000
UN number 1818
  • InChI=1S/Cl4Si/c1-5(2,3)4 YesY
    Key: FDNAPBUWERUEDA-UHFFFAOYSA-N YesY
  • InChI=1/Cl4Si/c1-5(2,3)4
  • [Si](Cl)(Cl)(Cl)Cl
Properties
SiCl4
Molar mass 169.90 g/mol
Appearance Colourless liquid
Density 1.483 g/cm3
Melting point −68.74 °C (−91.73 °F; 204.41 K)
Boiling point 57.65 °C (135.77 °F; 330.80 K)
Reaction
Solubility soluble in benzene, toluene, chloroform, ether, hydrochloric acid
Vapor pressure 25.9 kPa at 20 °C
Structure
Tetrahedral
4
Thermochemistry
240 J·mol−1·K−1[1]
−687 kJ·mol−1[1]
Vapor pressure {{{value}}}
Related compounds
Other anions
Silicon tetrafluoride
Silicon tetrabromide
Silicon tetraiodide
Other cations
Carbon tetrachloride
Germanium tetrachloride
Tin(IV) chloride
Titanium tetrachloride
Related chlorosilanes
Chlorosilane
Dichlorosilane
Trichlorosilane
Supplementary data page
Refractive index (n),
Dielectric constantr), etc.
Thermodynamic
data
Phase behaviour
solid–liquid–gas
UV, IR, NMR, MS
YesY verify (what is YesYN ?)
Infobox references

Silicon tetrachloride is the inorganic compound with the formula SiCl4. It is a colourless volatile liquid that fumes in air. It is used to produce high purity silicon and silica for commercial applications.

Preparation

Silicon tetrachloride is prepared by the chlorination of various silicon compounds such as ferrosilicon, silicon carbide, or mixtures of silicon dioxide and carbon. The ferrosilicon route is most common.[2]

In the laboratory, SiCl4 can be prepared by treating silicon with chlorine:

Si + 2 Cl2 → SiCl4

It was first prepared by Jöns Jakob Berzelius in 1823.

Reactions

Hydrolysis and related reactions

Like other chlorosilanes, silicon tetrachloride reacts readily with water:

SiCl4 + 2 H2O → SiO2 + 4 HCl

In contrast, carbon tetrachloride does not hydrolyze readily. The differing rates of hydrolysis are attributed to the greater atomic radius of the silicon atom allowing attack at silicon, and to the polar nature of the Si-Cl bonds favoring nucleophilic attack.[citation needed] The reaction can be noticed on exposure of the liquid to air, the vapour produces fumes as it reacts with moisture to give a cloud-like aerosol of hydrochloric acid.[3] With methanol and ethanol it reacts to give tetramethyl orthosilicate and tetraethyl orthosilicate:

SiCl4 + 4 ROH → Si(OR)4 + 4 HCl

Polysilicon chlorides

At higher temperatures homologues of silicon tetrachloride can be prepared by the reaction:

Si + 2 SiCl4 → Si3Cl8

In fact, the chlorination of silicon is accompanied by the formation of Si2Cl6. A series of compounds containing up to six silicon atoms in the chain can be separated from the mixture using fractional distillation.

Reactions with other nucleophiles

Silicon tetrachloride is a classic electrophile in its reactivity.[4] It forms a variety of organosilicon compounds upon treatment with Grignard reagents and organolithium compounds:

4 RLi + SiCl4 → R4Si + 4 LiCl

Reduction with hydride reagents afford silane.

Uses

Silicon tetrachloride is used as an intermediate in the manufacture of polysilicon, a hyper pure form of silicon,[2] since it has a boiling point convenient for purification by repeated fractional distillation. It is reduced to trichlorosilane (HSiCl3) by hydrogen gas in a hydrogenation reactor, and either directly used in the Siemens process or further reduced to silane (SiH4) and injected into a fluidized bed reactor. Silicon tetrachloride reapears in both these two processes as a by-product and is recycled in the hydrogenation reactor. The produced polysilicon is used as wafers in large amounts by the photovoltaic industry for conventional solar cells made of crystalline silicon and also by the semiconductor industry.

Silicon tetrachloride can also be hydrolysed to fumed silica. High purity silicon tetrachloride is used in the manufacture of optical fibres. This grade should be free of hydrogen containing impurities like trichlorosilane. Optical fibres are made using processes like MCVD and OFD where silicon tetrachloride is oxidized to pure silica in the presence of oxygen.

Safety and environmental issues

Pollution from the production of silicon tetrachloride has been reported in China associated with the increased demand for photovoltaic cells that has been stimulated by subsidy programs.[5]

See also

References

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