A review of the R3Si–NH–SiR3–type disilazanes: From synthesis to applications

Disilazanes (e.g., hexamethyldisilazane, tetramethyldisilazane, etc.) are a group of compounds containing a direct silicon-nitrogen bond, which can be easily cleavage and finally resulted in their usefulness as the source of nitrogen (e.g., multicomponent reactions) or silicon (e.g., O–silylation). This review focuses on their synthesis and further applications from the last twenty years. Whilst the use of these disilazanes as silylating agents is well-known, the incorporation of their nitrogen into organic molecules offers immense, but still unexplored opportunities in synthetic chemistry. Last but not least, their indirect involvement in catalysis is also shortly discussed.