Silicon tetramethyl , decomposition

Cyclic trimers and tetramers have been reported by Fritz and Raabe128. These were presumed to arise from intermediates formed in the dissociation of tetramethyl silicon by C-H bond rupture. This seems unlikely, but the same precursors could be formed by hydrogen abstraction from the parent compound. The available evidence indicates that the decomposition does not involve long chains, but free radical attack on the alkyl by the reactions... 

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