Question

How many single covalent bonds must a silicon atom have?

Answer 1

The simplest silane is `SiH_4`, which has 4 single covalent bonds.

Explanation:

As a carbon analogue, silicon forms four covalent bonds with hydrocarbyl groups. Silicon can appear as a heteroatom in many organic molecules, for instance `Si(CH_3)_4`, which is the reference compound for `""^1H " NMR spectroscopy"`.

Silylene compounds, unsaturated silicon compounds, are known, though these are more the provice of the inorganic specialist. Silicones, polysiloxanes, `{(R_2)SiO}_n`, have widespread industrial use.