<unk>  is a chemical compound with chemical formula SiH4.  It is the silicon analogue of methane.   At room temperature,<unk>  is a gas, and is pyrophoric — it undergoes spontaneous combustion in air, without the need for external ignition.  However, the difficulties in explaining the available (often contradictory) combuistion data are ascribed to the fact that<unk>  itself is stable and that the natural formation of larger<unk> s during production, as well as the sensitivity of combustion to impurities such as moisture and to the catalytic effects of container surfaces causes its pyrophoricity.  Above 420°C,<unk>  decomposes into silicon and hydrogen; it can therefore be used in the chemical vapor deposition of silicon.
More generally, a<unk>  is any silicon analogue of an alkane hydrocarbon.<unk> s consist of a chain of silicon atoms covalently bound to hydrogen atoms.  The general formula of a<unk>  is SinH2n+2.<unk> s tend to be less stable than their carbon analogues because the Si–Si bond has a strength slightly lower than the C–C bond.  Oxygen decomposes<unk> s easily, because the silicon-oxygen bond is quite stable.
There exists a regular nomenclature for<unk> s.  Each<unk> 's name is the word<unk>  preceded by a numerical prefix (di, tri, tetra, etc.) for the number of silicon atoms in the molecule.  Thus Si2H6 is disilane, Si3H8 is trisilane, and so forth.  There is no need for a prefix for one; SiH4 is simply<unk> .<unk> s can also be named like any other inorganic compound; in this naming system,<unk>  is named silicon tetrahydride. However, with longer<unk> s, this becomes cumbersome.
A cyclosilane is a<unk>  in a ring, just as a cycloalkane is an alkane in a ring.
Branched<unk> s are possible.  The radical ·SiH3 is termed silyl, ·Si2H5 is disilanyl, and so on.  Trisilane with a silyl group attached to the middle silicon is named silyltrisilane.  The nomenclature parallels that of alkyl radicals.<unk> s can also incorporate the same functional groups as alkanes, e.g. –OH to make a<unk> l. There is (at least in principle) a silicon analogue for all carbon alkanes.
Silane
Ether
Xylene
Vinyl ether
Vinyl chloride
Coal tar
Benzene
Toluene