Silicon is the second most abundant element on the earth s surface, whereby inorganic silanols (SiOH) make up the reactive hydroxyl groups on the surface of minerals, zeolites, and silica gel. The acidic silanol groups [1] are known to be capable of hydrogen bonding to small molecules for heterogeneous catalysis and separation chemistry, but the discrete surface-molecule interactions are not well understood.[2] Silanediols R2Si (OH) 2 are of ...
