NMR Studies on Hydrolysis and Condensation Reactions of Alkoxysilanes Containing Si—H Bonds

Hydrolysis and condensation reactions of four organically modified alkoxides, used for the preparation of silicon oxycarbide gel precursors, have been followed by 29Si NMR. Triethoxysilane (HSi(OEt)3) and methyldiethoxysilane (MeHSi(OEt)2) react extremely fast compared to methyltriethoxysilane (MeSi(OEt)3) and tetraethoxysilane (Si(OEt)4). Co-hydrolysis reactions between different pairs of precursors—MeSi(OEt)3/Si(OEt)4; MeSi(OEt)3/HSi(OEt)3; MeHSi(OEt)2/Si(OEt)4; and MeHSi(OEt)2/HSi(OEt)3—were investigated by solution state 29Si and 17O NMR. Despite significantly different reactivities between precursors, evidence for co-condensation reactions has been found for each system. Finally, two-dimensional 29Si-1H heteronuclear correlation MAS-NMR spectroscopy was used to probe the local environments of the various Si sites in the product hybrid networks.     

Newly Applied Two-Dimensional Solid-State NMR Correlation Techniques for the Characterization of Organically Modified Silicates

This paper highlights the use of two-dimensional (2D) solid-state NMR correlation techniques to probe the chemical homogeneity of organically modified silicate networks. Specifically, ²⁹Si{¹H} heteronuclear correlation (HETCOR) NMR experiments have revealed the spatial proximity of the two types of Si units present in a gel obtained from co-hydrolysis of methyldiethoxysilane and triethoxysilane. Similar information has also been obtained by using 2D ¹H homonuclear correlation NMR spectroscopy. Such experiments were only possible by combining the use of high magnetic field (14.10 T) with fast MAS spinning rate (30 kHz).     

Structural Investigation of the First Stages of Pyrolysis of Si-C-O Preceramic Polymers Containing Si–H Bonds

The polymer-to-glass transformation in the Si-C-O system usually involves cross-linking reactions at the C sites, which transform for example Si– H3 sites into (Si)4 sites, leading to the formation of a silicon oxycarbide network. Identification of the various C sites that form during pyrolysis under inert atmosphere is rather difficult from 13C MAS-NMR spectra, due to strong overlap of resonance lines, which prevents an accurate determination of the chemical shift values. This paper reports on the use of a spectral editing technique called Inversion Recovery Cross Polarization (IRCP), which, when combined with Cross Polarization (CP) technique, allows us to identify and quantify the formation of Si- H2-Si bridges during the early stages of the pyrolytic transformation of a polysiloxane containing Si–CH3 and Si–H groups. Several Si-C-O systems characterized by the same initial number of Si–CH3 bonds but with increasing number of Si–H bonds, have been investigated by MAS-NMR as well as thermogravimetric analysis coupled with mass spectrometry (TG/MS). The Si—H bonds play clearly an active role in the insertion of C atoms within the silica network.