Silanol

Chlorosilanes are the most common reactants: The hydrolysis of fluorosilanes requires more forcing reagents, i.e. alkali.

A wide range of oxidants have been employed including air, peracids, dioxiranes, and potassium permanganate (for hindered silanes).

In the presence of metal catalysts, silanes undergo hydrolysis:[3] The Si–O bond distance is typically about 1.65 Å.

The sol-gel process, which entails the conversion of, for example, Si(OEt)4 into hydrated SiO2, proceeds via silanol intermediates.

Silanols exist not only as chemical compounds, but are pervasive on the surface of silica and related silicates.

[8] Literally, silanol refers to a single compound with the formula H3SiOH (Chemical Abstracts number 14475-38-8).

The perhydroxylated silanol, sometimes called orthosilicic acid, is often discussed in vague terms, but has not been well characterized.