All chlorosilanes react with water to produce hydrogen chloride. The remaining hydroxyl group bonds to the silicon, initially forming a silol group (analogous to alcohol). In general, this will eventually bond to a solid oxide surface or react with another chlorosilane or silol molecule. In the latter cases, the oxygen atom forms a link between two silicon atoms, analogous to the ether linkage in organic chemicals, and identical to the bonding in silicon dioxide.

SiSiB® PC5400 is used as an intermediate in the manufacture of extremely pure silicon, as it has a boiling point convenient for purification by repeated fractional distillation; SiSiB® PC5400 can be reduced to silicon by hydrogen gas, or hydrolysed to SiO2 as a precursor for extremely pure synthetic fused silica. Very pure silicon is used in large amounts in the semiconductor industry, and also in the production of photovoltaic cells.