Production of organosilanes from polysilanes
AssigneeDow Corning Corporation
InventorsGary N. Bokerman, John P. Cannady, Ann E. Ogilvy
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Abstract
The present invention is a process for the production of organosilanes from the high-boiling residue resulting from the reaction of organohalides with silicon metalloid in a process typically referred to as the "direct process." The present process comprises forming a mixture comprising a organotrihalosilane and the high-boiling residue in the presence of hydrogen gas, a hydrogenolysis catalyst, and a redistribution catalyst. The organotrihalosilane and high-boiling residue are converted into commercially useful di- and triorganosilanes and organohydrosilanes. The present process results in consumption of the organotrihalosilane rather than the net increase which typically occurs in the absence of the redistribution catalyst.
Claims27
A process for converting polysilanes to organosilanes, the process comprising:
- (A) forming a mixture comprising polysilanes of formula
- R.sub.a H.sub.b Si.sub.n X.sub.2n+2-a-b
- and an organotrihalosilane of formula
- RSiX.sub.3
- (B) contacting the mixture with hydrogen gas at a pressure of 50 psig to 10,000 psig, a hydrogenolysis catalyst, and a redistribution catalyst, at a temperature of 100.degree. C. to 400.degree. C. and
- (C) recovering organohalosilanes of formula
- R.sub.c H.sub.d SiX.sub.4-c-d
- where each R is a radical independently selected from a group consisting of alkyls of one to six carbon atoms, aryls, alkoxys of one to six carbon atoms, trimethylsilyl, and trifluoropropyl. X is a halogen n=2 to 20, a=0 to 2n+2, b=0 to 2n+2. a+b=0 to 2n+2, c=1, 2, 3, or 4, d=0, 1, or 2, and c+d=2, 3, or 4.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.