Chemists trap molecular species of silicon oxides

In an inspiring breakthrough, chemistry researchers have stablized one of the most abundant silicon oxides in the universe:

Using a technique they developed in 2008, the UGA team succeeded in isolating silicon oxide fragments for the first time, at room temperature, by trapping them between stabilizing organic bases.

"In the 2008 discovery, we were able to stabilize the disilicon molecule, which previously could only be studied at extremely low temperatures on a solid argon matrix," said Gregory H. Robinson, UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and the study's co-author. "We demonstrated that these organic bases could stabilize a variety of extremely reactive molecules at room temperature."

The columns, or groups, of elements of the periodic table generally share similar chemical properties. Group 14, for example, contains the element carbon, as well as silicon, the most carbon-like of all the elements. However, there are significant differences between the two. While the oxides of carbon, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are widely known, the molecular chemistry of corresponding silicon oxides is essentially unknown, due to the great reactivity of silicon-oxygen multiple bonds.

The focus of more than century of work by chemists around the world, this discovery builds on earlier work by the team and potentially opens the door to further activity in this area of molecules contaning silicon oxide units. The limitless horizon of applications they may have unlocked is perhaps the most pure indication of the extraordinary talents of this team. Robinson, Schaefer and the late Paul von Rague Schleyer have brought much acclaim to the Franklin College and UGA over the years, not to mention some of the best young researchers from around the world who come here to study with them. Congratulations on this new work and our humble thanks for these sustained and profound efforts in fundamental science.

Image: UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Gregory H. Robinson