Applications
Several industrial and medical applications exist for silane and functionalized silanes. For instance, silanes are used as coupling agents to adhere glass fibers to a polymer matrix, stabilizing the composite material. In other words, silane coats the glass fibers to create better adhesion to the polymer chain. They can also be used to couple a bio-inert layer on a titanium implant. Other applications include water repellents, masonry protection, control of graffiti, applying polycrystalline silicon layers on silicon wafers when manufacturing semiconductors, and sealants. The semiconductor industry used about 300 metric tons per year of silane in the late 1990s. More recently, a growth in low-cost solar panel manufacturing has led to substantial consumption of silane for depositing amorphous silicon on glass and other surfaces.
Silane is also used in supersonic combustion ramjets to initiate combustion in the compressed air stream. As it can burn using carbon dioxide as an oxidizer it is a candidate fuel for engines operating on Mars. Since this reaction has some byproducts which are solid (silicon dioxide and carbon) it is applicable only to liquid-fuel rockets (with liquid carbon dioxide), ramjets, or other reaction engines.
Silane and similar compounds containing Si—H bonds are used as reducing agents in organic and organometallic chemistry.
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