The term "carbon-functional organosilicon compound" is used for
organosilicon compounds in which a functional group is bonded to an
organic moiety that is in turn con- nected to silicon via a Si-C bond.
Thus, only Si-Cn-Y com- pounds (Y designates a functional group) will be
discussed in this book 1 Si-O-Cn-Y compounds will in general not be
considered, although the latter group does include a large number of
natural substances containing silylated hydroxyl groups. (Because of the
differing importance of various Y groups, the reader will find some
deviation from this restriction). Finally, compounds containing a silyl
group as the functional group are not considered. An overview of the
field of organosilicon chemistry would show that in the last several
decades the commercial synthesis of organosilicon products has increased
substan- tially, both in annual production and also in the increasing
variety of compounds produced. This increase in the number of
commercially available carbon-functional monomers and polymers (silicone
polymers) is most remarkable and is occurring because new applications
are continually being found for these compounds. As might be expected,
the number of publications in this field is also increasing. The
important position of silicon in the periodic table - between carbon,
aluminum, and phosphorus - means that an understanding of the nature of
the bonds in organosilicon compounds is quite important in order to
understand the bonding in these other areas.