Dodecamethylcyclohexasilane is the organosilicon compound with the formula . It is one of the more readily prepared and easily handled polysilanes. Dodecamethylcyclohexasilane is produced by reduction of dimethyldichlorosilane with sodiumâÂÂpotassium alloy:
where M is Na or K. The reaction also produces a polymer poly(dimethylsilylene) and a cyclic compound decamethylcyclopentasilane .
The chair conformer of dodecamethylcyclohexasilane was confirmed by X-ray crystallography.
Dodecamethylcyclohexasilane reacts with potassium tert-butoxide to give the potassium derivative: