Using dichloroethane and Reed’s benzenium ion as a catalyst, alkyl-substituted silicon can be very selectively modified, German researchers show in Nature.

In organic chemistry, silicon is mainly found as a protective group for oxygen atoms, for example in the form of trimethylsilyl, because of its stability. But using silicon in a molecular structure and making Si-C bonds (silanes) has been quite difficult until now. Silicon with four alkyl groups is therefore currently considered a dead end. However, Tao He, Hendrik Klare and Martin Oestreich from the Technical University of Berlin have developed a relatively simple method for making and manipulating those dead-end silanes.