Hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane can be used as reagent for the preparation of dimethylsilanols, trapping of insitu-
generated silanones, silylenes, silyl azides, silanethiones,
and derivatives.
Hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane, (D3) is the simplest member of a series of cyclic oligodimethylsiloxanes, primarily used as synthetic equivalents for the reactive intermediate dimethylsilanone. This characteristic is responsible for its extensive application in polymer chemistry. Hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane has also been exploited as an efficient trapping reagent for a variety of shortlived intermediates, including silanones and silyenes. The ability of D3 to intercept these reactive species has been attributed to its rigid, planar structure,8 and the resultant release of strain from ring expansion.