Materials Containing Silicon, Its Inorganic Derivatives, Functional Silanes, and/or Organosilicon Polymers

Dear Colleagues,

A semiconductive pure silicon is used as a basic electronic material for production of computer chips and other electronic devices.

Many functional silanes of different chemical structures containing reactive groups, mostly bound to silicon atom, but also quite often attached to carbon atom are applied for modification of surface properties of different polymeric and inorganic materials, e.g., fillers.

Silicones (polysiloxanes), containing silicon and oxygen atoms in their main chains and organic substituents bound to silicon, are a large and most important group of various inorganic-organic (hybrid) compounds and materials. Mainly poly(dimethylsiloxanes) (PDMS) are used. Silicones are applied as oils, rubbers, and resins (W. Noll, 1968; M.A. Brook, 2000). They have many unusual features - they exhibit excellent chemical, physical, and electrical properties. Even an addition of  a very small amount of silicones causes a crucial improvement of properties of modified materials. Silicones increase hydrophobicity and improve water resistance and thermal stability of many materials.

Other organosilicon polymers, and especially, polysilanes, polycarbosilanes, and polysilazanes, are raw materials for fabrication of polymer-derived high-tech ceramic materials. Silicon-based polymers and polymeric materials as well as reactive silane coupling agents are used in many fields – from industry, through everyday life commodity goods and cosmetics, to medicine. Their universal properties decide that they are very useful and attractive materials and components in a very wide range of products.

A continuously growing interest in applications of reactive silanes, all kinds of silicones, chemically modified nanosilica, different composites, silicon photovoltaic cells, and silicon nanowires has been still observed in many different fields of science, the chemical technology, and especially in materials science. Original contributions and reviews are welcome.

Dr. Jerzy J. Chruściel
Guest Editor

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