A study of the interaction of diethylzinc with the Aerosil surface

The interaction of diethylzinc with Aerosil has been examined by IR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The reaction involves both free hydroxyl groups and siloxane groups of the surface resulting in the formation of Si-O-Zn-Et and Si-Et fragments. At temperatures above 300 °C, these structures undergo decomposition with the recovery of Si-OH groups on the Aerosil surface and liberation of metallic zinc.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 1666–1668, September, 1994.The authors are grateful to M. B. Molotovshchikova for continuous help in performing the experiment.