Avoiding Carbothermal Reduction: Distillation of Alkoxysilanes from Biogenic, Green, and Sustainable Sources

The direct depolymerization of SiO2 to distillable alkoxysilanes has been explored repeatedly without success for 85 years as an alternative to carbothermal reduction (1900 degrees C) to Si-met, followed by treatment with ROH. We report herein the base-catalyzed depolymerization of SiO2 with diols to form distillable spirocyclic alkoxysilanes and Si(OEt)(4). Thus, 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol, 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol, or ethylene glycol (EGH(2)) react with silica sources, such as rice hull ash, in the presence of NaOH (10%) to form H2O and distillable spirocyclic alkoxysilanes [bis(2-methyl-2,4-pentanediolato) silicate, bis(2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediolato) silicate or Si(eg)(2) polymer with 5-98% conversion, as governed by surface area/crystallinity. Si(eg)(2) or bis(2-methyl-2,4-pentanediolato) silicate reacted with EtOH and catalytic acid to give Si(OEt)(4) in 60% yield, thus providing inexpensive routes to high-purity precipitated or fumed silica and compounds with single Si-C bonds.