Alkyl silicates production

Stober A process for making metal oxides in the form of small spheres of uniform diameter by the controlled hydrolysis of metal alkoxides. First used in 1968 to make silica spheres from alkyl silicates. The products can be used to make high quality oxide ceramics. See also Sol-Gel. 

It was found that treatment of a mixture of 120 and 121 with tris(diethylamino-sulfonium) trimethyldifluorosilicate [TASF(Et)] resulted in smooth addition-elimination to the naphthoquinone to form the y-alkylation product 125 (85 %). TASF(Et) is a convenient source of soluble, anhydrous fluoride ion [47]. It is believed that exposure of 121 to TASF(Et) results in fluoride transfer to generate a hypervalent silicate anion, as depicted in structure 124. The transfer of fluoride between TASF(Et) and 121 may be driven by stabilization of the anionic species 124 by delocalization of the carbon-silicon bond into the LUMO of the unsaturated ketone. 1,4-Addition-elimination of this species to the naphthoquinone 120 would then form the observed product. 

Patents assigned to Mobil (217) describe the use of boron trifluoride supported on several porous carriers. BF3 supported on silica was found to exhibit a slightly higher performance with added water in the alkylation of a mixed alkene feed at 273 K. It was also shown that self-alkylation activity was considerably lower than that with HF as catalyst. Another patent (218) describes the use of a pillared layered silicate, MCM-25, promoted with BF3 to give a high-quality alkylate at temperatures of about 273 K. BF3 was also supported on zeolite BEA, with adsorbed water still present (219). This composite catalyst exhibited low butene isomerization activity, which was evident from the inferior results obtained with 1-butene. At low reaction temperatures, the product quality was superior to that of HF alkylate. 

The Hiyama coupling offers a practical alternative when selectivity and/or availability of other reagents are problematic. Hiyama et al. coupled alkyltrifluorosilane 74 with 2-bromofuran 73 to give the corresponding cross-coupled product 75 in moderate yield in the presence of catalytic Pd(Ph3P)4 and 3 equivalents of TBAF [65]. In this case, more than one equivalent of fluoride ion was needed to form a pentacoordinated silicate. On the other hand, alkyltrifluorosilane 74 was prepared by hydrosilylation of the corresponding terminal olefin with trichlorosilane followed by fluorination with C11F2. This method provides a facile protocol for the synthesis of alkyl-substituted aromatic compounds. 

The chemistry of silicone halides was recently reviewed by Collins.13 The primary use for SiCU is in the manufacturing of fumed silica, but it is also used in the manufacture of polycrystalline silicon for the semiconductor industry. It is also commonly used in the synthesis of silicate esters. T richlorosilane (another important product of the reaction of silicon or silicon alloys with chlorine) is primarily used in the manufacture of semiconductor-grade silicon, and in the synthesis of organotrichlorosilane by the hydrosilylation reactions. The silicon halohydrides are particularly useful intermediate chemicals because of their ability to add to alkenes, allowing the production of a broad range of alkyl- and functional alkyltrihalosilanes. These alkylsilanes have important commercial value as monomers, and are also used in the production of silicon fluids and resins. On the other hand, trichlorosilane is a basic precursor to the synthesis of functional silsesquioxanes and other highly branched siloxane structures. 

Substitution by Alkyls of Zinc, Mercury, and Aluminum. The reaction of alkyls of zinc with ethyl silicate or silicon tetrachloride was the first to be used for the preparation of organosilicon compounds. During the period 1863 to 1880 Friedel and Crafts and later Ladenburg employed zinc dimethyl and zinc diethyl to prepare the corresponding alkyls of silicon and many of the intermediate substitution products as well. The reactions were conducted in sealed tubes heated to about 160° and were of a straightforward metathetical type ... 

Cymene or isopropyltoluene is produced via alkylation of toluene with propylene. Cymene is an important intermediate in the production of cresol, and it is also used as an industrial solvent. Again, for both environmental and economic reasons, the use of zeolitic materials for this conversion has been studied. For example, Flockhart et al. have used zeolite Y to effect this reaction (7). They observed that the state of the zeolite, including its degree of ion-exchange and the temperature at which it was calcined, strongly affected the distribution of cymene isomers obtained. In order to enhance the selectivity to para-cymene, the direct precursor to para-cresol, various studies have focused on the use of surface modified zeolites, for example, ZSM-5 materials, including those produced by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of silicate esters. These species serve to reduce surface acidity and change limit diffusion within the crystal. 

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