In organosilicon chemistry, silanes are a diverse class of charge-neutral organic compounds with the general formula SiR4.
The R substituents can be any combination of organic[1] or inorganic groups.
[2] Most silanes contain Si-C bonds, and are discussed under organosilicon compounds.
Some contain Si-H bonds and are discussed under hydrosilanes.
By tradition, compounds with Si-O-Si bonds are usually not referred to as silanes.