Theoretical study on a kind of cyclization mechanism of boron trichloride and hexamethyldisilazane to form the borazine ring for SiBCN ceramics precursor

Abstract Borazine rings act as a pivotal part in siliconboroncarbonitride ceramics (SiBCN) for high-temperature stability and great resistance to crystallization. A detailed investigation of the ring formation mechanism will guide the design and synthesis of SiBCN to meet application requirements under extreme conditions. Boron trichloride (BCl3) and hexamethyldisilazane (HN(SiMe3)2) are common raw materials for the synthesis of precursors for SiBCN. In this paper, quantum chemical calculation was used to study the cyclization reaction mechanism between BCl3 and HN(SiMe3)2 to form trichloroborazine (TCBZ) at the MP2/6-31G (d,p) level of theory. We discussed the structure properties, reaction pathways, energy barriers, reaction rates, and other aspects in detail. The results show that BCl3 and HN(SiMe3)2 alternately participate in the reaction process, accompanied by the release of trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS), and that the entire reaction shows an absolute advantage in terms of energy. In the Step by step reaction, lower reaction barriers are formed due to the introduction of BCl3 with more heat released compared to that for the introduction of HN(SiMe3)2. The final single-molecule cyclization and TMCS elimination steps are found to be faster compared to all previous bimolecular reactions.