Improved Si NMR detection of sterically protected fluorosilanes using the Si(F)-INEPT technique

The ²⁹Si-¹⁹F INEPT NMR method has been applied to significantly reduce the recording time of ²⁹Si NMR spectra of sterically shielded fluorosilanes. This technique furthermore improves the signal to noise ratio to a degree which allows the simultaneous detection of minor byproducts which are below the detection limit using direct acquisition.     

Si-Fluoro substituted quasisilatranes (N → Si) FYSi(OCH2CH2)2NR

The reaction of fluorosilanes XYSiF₂ (X = Y = F; X = F, Y = Ph; X = Ph, Y = Me) with diethanolamines and their O-trimethylsilyl derivatives affords novel Si-fluoro substituted quasisilatranes 3, 5 and 9. These compounds were characterized by the multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. Experimental and theoretically calculated electron density distribution functions in crystal structure of 9 have shown that the N → Si coordination bond corresponds to polar bond with pronounced ionic contribution. Calculated N → Si bond order in the compound 9 does not exceed 1/3 of the normal Si-N bond. A strong N → Si coordination bond exists in compounds 3, 5 and 9 the length of which varies in the range 1.98-2.175 Å.     

Preparation and tribological tests of thin fluoroorganic films

Adhesion, friction and consequent wear of sliding surfaces are the basic problems that limit the performance and reliability of microelectromechanical devices. Lubrication of these nano- and microscale contacts is different from traditional lubricants. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) chemically bonded to the substrate are considered to be the best solution of lubrication. The majority of these monolayers are hydrophobic providing low friction, adhesion and wear.Chemical vapor deposition was used to grow a fluorosilane film on silicon Si(1 0 0) and a condensed monolayer of 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS) on Au(1 1 1). The films were characterized by means of a contact angle analyzer for hydrophobicity, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) for identification of thin fluoroorganic monolayers deposited on silica surfaces and condensed monolayer MPTMS. Adhesion and friction measurements were performed using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and compared with measurements performed using a microtribometer operating in millinewton (mN) normal load range. Nanotribological measurements indicated that silica and MPTMS modified by fluorosilanes have the lowest friction coefficient and indicated a decrease friction coefficient with increasing fluoric alkyl chain length.     

The interaction of fluorosilanes with hydrogen fluoride clusters: strongly blue-shifted hydrogen bonds

The equilibrium structures, binding energies, and vibrational spectra of the complexes formed between hydrogen fluoride clusters (HF)_n (1≤n≤4) and the fluorosilanes SiHF₃, SiH₂F₂, and SiH₃F are investigated within the second-order Møller–Plesset perturbation theory method applying extended basis sets. It is shown that Si–FH–F halogen–hydrogen bonds are formed in the most stable open dimers, SiHF₃–HF, SiH₂F₂HF, and SiH₃FHF. No Si–HF–H hydrogen bonds occur in these dimers. Nevertheless, blue shifts of Si–H stretching frequencies are calculated. All three trimers, fluorosilane–(HF)₂, all three tetramers, fluorosilane–(HF)₃, and two of the pentamers, fluorosilane–(HF)₄, form cyclic structures with strong Si–FH–F halogen–hydrogen bonds and weak Si–HF–H contacts, the latter displaying, nevertheless, strongly blue-shifted Si–H stretching frequencies. These blue shifts are comparable in size to those of the corresponding fluoromethane–(HF)_n complexes and are with about +50 cm⁻¹ for the case n=3 among the largest ever calculated and definitely the largest for Si–H bonds. In the title complexes, the formation of the Si–FH–F halogen–hydrogen bonds induces a substantial stretching of this Si–F bond, which in turn leads to a significant contraction of the fluorosilane Si–H bond in the Si–HF–H hydrogen bond. This disposition of the fluorosilane monomers is demonstrated with the aid of suitable potential energy surface scans and appears to be a prerequisite for the formation of strongly blue-shifted hydrogen bonds.     

An analysis of the partition of the molecular space in the SCF-MS-Xα method: Calculations of the valence ionization potentials of SiH3F and SiH2F2

Multiple scattering X calculations were performed to compute the valence ionization potentials of SiH₃F and SiH₂F₂, with the aim to investigate the effect of different geometrical parameters. The results show that the ordering of the valence levels does not depend on the choice of these parameters, so that MS-X calculation may be confidently used in assigning photoelectron spectra.