[2] Trichlorosilane is produced by treating powdered metallurgical grade silicon with blowing hydrogen chloride at 300 °C.
The main byproducts are silicon tetrachloride (chemical formula SiCl4), hexachlorodisilane (Si2Cl6) and dichlorosilane (H2SiCl2), from which trichlorosilane can be separated by distillation.
[4][5] Via hydrosilylation, trichlorosilane is a precursor to other useful organosilicon compounds: Some useful products of this or similar reactions include octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS), perfluoroctyltrichlorosilane (PFOTCS), and perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (FDTS).
This effect is usually exploited as coating for MEMS and microfabricated stamps for a nanoimprint lithography (NIL) and in injection molding tools.
Trichlorosilane can cause hazardous chemical reactions with moisture and humidity alone, and should be handled and stored under inert gas.