Silanes
![Chemical structure of silane, the simplest silane. Notice that the silicon atom is located at the center of the silane tetrahedron.](/Images/godic/202502/15/Silane-2D4149.png")
![sp3-Hybridization in silane.](/Images/godic/202502/15/Ch4_hybridization.svg4149.png")
Silanes are saturated chemical compounds consisting of one or multiple silicon atoms linked to each other or one or multiple atoms of other chemical elements as the tetrahedral centers of multiple single bonds. By definition, cycles are excluded, so that the silanes comprise a homologous series of inorganic compounds with the general formula Si
nH
2n + 2. Commercially available silanes are synthetically derived.