The interaction of
silane and water is discussed controversially
in literature: some authors suggest monosilane and water react kinetically
and sufficiently fast enough to remove water, while others state the
reaction occurs only at elevated temperatures. This question is of
technological interest for the removal of unavoidable water residues
in Ar gases. Thermodynamic calculations show that virtually complete
removal of water is expected with superstoichiometric silane addition.
However, mass spectrometric and infrared spectroscopic experiments
give evidence that the addition of monosilane to such an Ar gas at
room temperature is unable to remove residual water, which disagrees
with some current hypotheses in the literature. This holds even for
very high SiH4 concentrations up to 2 vol.-%. Silane reacts
with water above temperatures of 555 °C, initiated by the thermal
decomposition of silane. A cold dielectric barrier discharge-plasma
used for silane and water dissociation enhances reactivity similar
to elevated temperatures. Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy
points toward silanol generation at temperatures between 400 and 550
°C, while quadrupole mass spectrometry indicates the creation
of SiOH+, SiHOH+, SiH2OH+, and SiH3OH+. Cold plasmas generate smaller
amounts of SiOH+, SiHOH+, and SiH2OH+ compared to elevated temperatures. Reaction products
are hydrogen and nanoscaled particles of non-stoichiometric silicon
oxides. The silicon-oxide particles produced differ in elemental composition
and shape depending on the prevailing water content during decomposition:
SiO
x
generated with residual water appears
with relatively smooth surfaces, while the addition of water supports
the formation of significantly rougher particle surfaces. Higher initial
water contents correlate with higher oxygen contents of the particles.