Strong Explosive Interaction of Hydrogenated Porous Silicon with Oxygen at Cryogenic Temperatures

We report new types of heterogeneous hydrogen-oxygen and silicon-oxygen branched chain reactions which have been found to proceed explosively after the filling of pores of hydrogen-terminated porous silicon (Si) by condensed or liquid oxygen in the temperature range of 4.2-90 K. Infrared vibrational absorption spectroscopy shows that, while initially Si nanocrystals assembling the layers have hydrogen-terminated surfaces, the final products of the reaction are SiO₂ and H₂O. Time-resolved optical experiments show that the explosive reaction develops in a time scale of 10^-6 s. We emphasize the remarkable structural properties of porous Si layers which are crucial for the strong explosive interaction.