Silanization

Silanization is the attachment of an organosilyl group to some chemical species. Almost always, silanization is the conversion of a silanol-terminated surface to a alkylsiloxy-terminated surface. This conversion confers hydrophobicity to a previously hydrophilic surface. This process is often used to modify the surface properties of glass, silicon, alumina, quartz, and metal oxide substrates, which all have an abundance of hydroxyl groups. Silanization differs from silylation, which usually refers to attachment of organosilicon groups to molecular substrates.