Summary
Researchers within UCLA's Department of Chemistry have developed a scalable, flexible, and cost-effective method of synthesizing trialkoxysilanes with single or multiple custom functionalities.
Background
Trialkoxysilanes are chemical compounds widely employed in research, commercial, and industrial settings. They and other members of the silane family have been used to modify or enhance material properties including surface wettability, adhesion, tribological/optical/electrical properties, and redox activity. While large varieties of trialkoxysilane are commercially available, many are also expensive. Moreover, current synthesis methods allow for only limited functionalization of trialkoxysilanes, a barrier that must be overcome to meet future demand for new silane-based materials and devices.
Innovation
UCLA researchers have developed a simple method of producing a wide variety of functionalized trialkoxysilanes using low power UV light. The pendant group, linked to the trialkoxysilane by a thioether bond, may be a small molecule, synthetic macromolecule, biomolecule or biopolymer. The method generally results in the formation of product trialkoxysilanes in high yield and purity, enabling product use without further purification. Furthermore, the invention is a low-cost method; synthesis does not require the use of noble metal catalysts, reactants and reagents are inexpensive, and only simple equipment is required.
Applications
- Bench and commercial-scale production of functionalized trialkoxysilanes
Advantages
- Straightforward one- step synthetic method
- Synthetic method is chemo and region-selective, functional group tolerant, and proceeds under mild conditions.
- Can produce a wide variety of functionalized trialkoxysilane products
- Cost-effective; low-cost reagents, eliminates need for noble metal catalysts
- Process is scalable to high volume
- Relatively low equipment costs
State Of Development
Using the invention method, 14 different trialkoxysilane varieties were synthesized on a small scale (0.5-5 mmol) with near quantitative yields and high purities. One trialkoxysilane compound was also synthesized on a large scale (>100mmol, ~37g).