Triethylsilane is a silane

Silane

Silane is a toxic, extremely flammable chemical compound with chemical formula SiH4. In 1857, the German chemists and Friedrich Woehler discovered silane among the products formed by the action of hydrochloric acid on aluminum silicide, which they had previously prepared...

 with the molecular formula C₆H₁₆Si. It is a trialkylsilicon hydride compound with a reactive Si-H bond. This colorless liquid is often used in organic synthesis, specifically for the hydrosilation of olefins to give alkyl silanes. It can also be used as a reducing agent

Reducing agent

A reducing agent is the element or compound in a reduction-oxidation reaction that donates an electron to another species; however, since the reducer loses an electron we say it is "oxidized"...

 since it has an active hydride.

Synthesis

Triethylsilane can be prepared by the reaction between three equivalents of ethylene

Ethylene

Ethylene is a gaseous organic compound with the formula . It is the simplest alkene . Because it contains a carbon-carbon double bond, ethylene is classified as an unsaturated hydrocarbon. Ethylene is widely used in industry and is also a plant hormone...

 and silane

Silane

Silane is a toxic, extremely flammable chemical compound with chemical formula SiH4. In 1857, the German chemists and Friedrich Woehler discovered silane among the products formed by the action of hydrochloric acid on aluminum silicide, which they had previously prepared...

. This can be thought to occur by the coordination of ethylene to silicon followed by the nucleophilic olefin capturing the H in one of the Si-H bonds.

3 C₂H₄ + SiH₄ → (C₂H₅)₃SiH