Reaction of silanes in supercritical CO2 with TiO2 and Al2O3

Infrared spectroscopy was used to investigate the reaction of silanes with TiO2 and Al2O3 using supercritical CO2 (Sc-CO2) as a solvent. It was found that contact of Sc-CO2 with TiO2 leads to partial removal of the water layer and to the formation of carbonate, bicarbonate, and carboxylate species on the surface. Although these carbonate species are weakly bound to the TiO2 surface and can be removed by a N2 purge, they poison the surface, resulting in a lower level of reaction of silanes with TiO2. Specifically, the amount of hexamethyldisilazane adsorbed on TiO2 is about 10% of the value obtained when the reaction is performed from the gas phase. This is not unique to TiO2, as the formation of carbonate species also occurs upon contact of Al2O3 with Sc-CO2 and this leads to a lower level of reaction with hexamethyldisilazane. This is in contrast to reactions of silanes on SiO2 where Sc-CO2 has several advantages over conventional gaseous or nonaqueous methods. As a result, caution needs to be applied when using Sc-CO2 as a solvent for silanization reactions on oxides other than SiO2.