Silicon-carbon bond formation on porous silicon

Abstract

Porous silicon has enormous potential for a variety of applications as a high surface area variant of single crystalline silicon. Its high surface area is its defining feature, which can dominate the properties of the material. The native surface produced after an electrochemical etch is typically a hydride-terminated surface that is only metastable in ambient air; this surface will oxidize over time. Surface chemical functionalization can enable stabilization of the porous silicon with respect to demanding chemical and biologically relevant environments and can enable precise tailoring of properties to endow the material with particular characteristics on demand. This chapter examines the surface chemistry of porous silicon that produces direct silicon-carbon bonds, to enable the covalent binding of just about any organic molecule of interest to the surface.