| abstract |
A method for forming a dialkyldichlorosilane, comprising reacting elemental silicon with an alkyl chloride using copper as a catalyst together with promoters zinc, tin, and a special promoter. The special promoter is silver, a silver compound, gold, a gold compound, or combinations thereof. The alkyl may be methyl such that the dialkyldichlorosilane is dimethyldichlorosilane and the alkyl chloride is methyl chloride. The reacting generates the dialkyldichlorosilane in accordance with a first selectivity for the dialkyldichlorosilane that exceeds a second selectivity for the dialkyldichlorosilane. The second selectivity is a selectivity for the dialkyldichlorosilane that would have existed had the special promoter been absent. |