Dimethyldichlorosilane is a tetrahedral, organosilicon

Organosilicon

Organosilicon compounds are organic compounds containing carbon silicon bonds. Organosilicon chemistry is the corresponding science exploring their properties and reactivity.Like carbon, the organically bound silicon is tetravalent and tetrahedral...

 compound with the formula Si(CH₃)₂Cl₂. At room temperature it is a colorless liquid that readily reacts with water to form both linear and cyclic Si-O chains. Dimethyldichlorosilane is made on an industrial scale as the principal precursor to dimethylsilicone and polysilane compounds.
The first organosilicon

Organosilicon

Organosilicon compounds are organic compounds containing carbon silicon bonds. Organosilicon chemistry is the corresponding science exploring their properties and reactivity.Like carbon, the organically bound silicon is tetravalent and tetrahedral...

 compounds were reported in 1863 by Charles Friedel

Charles Friedel

Charles Friedel was a French chemist and mineralogist. A native of Strasbourg, France, he was a student of Louis Pasteur at the Sorbonne...

 and James Crafts

James Crafts

James Mason Crafts was an American chemist, best known for developing the Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation reactions with Charles Friedel in 1876.-Biography:...

 who synthesized tetraethylsilane from diethylzinc and silicon tetrachloride

Silicon tetrachloride

Silicon tetrachloride is the inorganic compound with the formula SiCl4. It is a colourless volatile liquid that fumes in air. It is used to produce high purity silicon and silica for commercial applications.-Preparation:...

.