Silicon tetrapropyl

Waring, C. E. The Kinetics of the Thermal Decomposition of Gaseous Silicon Tetraethyl and Silicon Tetrapropyl. Trans. Faraday Soc. 36, 1142-1153 (1940). 

The chemistry involved in the formation of mesoporous silica thin films is qualitatively well understood. However, specific reaction mechanisms of the individual steps are still debated. In addition, owing to the complexity of the sol-gel reaction pathways and cooperative self-assembly, full kinetic models have not been developed. From the time of mixing, hydrolysis reactions, condensation reactions, protonation and deprotonation, dynamic exchange with solution nucleophiles, complexation with solution ions and surfactants, and self-assembly, all occur in parallel and are discussed here. Although the sol-gel reactions involved may be acid or base catalyzed, mesoporous silica film formation is carried out under acidic conditions, as silica species are metastable and the relative rates of hydrolysis and condensation reactions lead to interconnected structures as opposed to the stable sols produced at higher pH. Silicon alkoxides are the primary silica source (tetramethyl orthosilicate, tetraethyl orthosilicate, tetrapropyl orthosilicate, etc.) and are abbreviated TMOS, TEOS, and TPOS, respectively. Starting from the alkoxide, Si(OR)4, in ROH and H2O solution, some of the general reactions are ... 

Specific retention volumes have been reported373 for some tetraalkylsilanes mainly containing branched alkyl groups374. A quantity called the silicon index (ISi) has been reported for tetramethyl, tetraethyl and tetrapropyl silanes. 

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