In organosilicon chemistry, organosilanols are a group of chemical compounds derived from silicon.
Silanols are more acidic and more basic than their alcohol counterparts and therefore show a rich structural chemistry characterized by hydrogen bonding networks which are particularly well studied for silanetriols.
The hydrolysis rate of the Si-H bond depends on the type and number of organic residues.
This can be explained by a stronger increase in electron density on the silicon atom by the alkyl groups.
Correspondingly, the reaction rate of the tri-n-alkylsilanes decreases in the series of ethyl, propyl, butyl groups.