What is silicone?


When it comes to organosilicon compounds, most people don't know much about them. In fact, this synthetic compound, which does not exist in nature, has developed vigorously since industrialization in the 1940s.


1. Basic knowledge of organosilicon


concept


Organosilicon, or organosilicon compounds, refers to compounds containing Si-C bonds, and at least one organic group is directly linked to the silicon atom. It is customary to treat those compounds which connect the organic group with the silicon atom through oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, etc. as organosilicon compounds. Among them, polysiloxane, which is composed of silicon-oxygen bond (-Si-O-Si-) as the framework, is the most abundant, the most deeply studied and widely used type of organosilicon compounds, accounting for more than 90% of the total dosage.


classification


Silicone products are mainly divided into silicone oil products, silicone rubber products, silane coupling agent and silicone resin four varieties.


2. Use of organosilicon


At present, there are many kinds of organosilicon products, including 10,000 varieties and brands. There are more than 4,000 kinds of organosilicon products commonly used, which can be roughly divided into three categories: raw materials, intermediates, products and products.


1. Organosilicon monomers: mainly refers to the monomers which synthesize organosilicon polymers such as organochlorosilane, such as methyl chlorosilane, phenyl chlorosilane, vinyl chlorosilane and other raw materials.


2. Silicone intermediate: mainly refers to linear or cyclic siloxane oligomers, such as hexamethyldisiloxane (MM), octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4), dimethylcyclotetrasiloxane mixture (DMC), etc.


3. Organosilicon products and products: Organosilicon products are prepared by polymerization of intermediates and adding various inorganic fillers or modifier additives.


Because of these excellent properties, silicone has a wide range of applications. It is not only used as a special material in aviation, advanced technology and military technology departments, but also used in various sectors of the national economy. Its application scope has been expanded to: construction, electronics and electricity, textile, automobile, machinery, leather and paper making, chemical light industry, metals and paints, medicine and medical treatment, etc.


1. The main applications of silicone oil and its derivatives are: defilm agent, shock absorber oil, dielectric oil, hydraulic oil, heat transfer oil, diffusion pump oil, defoamer, lubricant, hydrophobic agent, paint additive, polishing agent, cosmetics and daily necessities additive, surfactant, particle and fiber treatment agent, silicone grease, flocculant.


2. Silicone rubber is divided into room temperature vulcanized silicone rubber and high temperature vulcanized silicone rubber. The former is mainly applied to sealants, adhesives, conformal coatings, gaskets, foam rubber, molded parts, packaging materials, electrical insulation, glass assembly, medical implants, surgical auxiliary materials, and molding materials; the latter is mainly applied to pipes and hoses, strips, wires and cables, and surgical operations. Auxiliary materials, flame retardant rubber parts, penetrated sealing materials, molded parts, embossing rollers, automobile ignition cables and spark plug covers, extrusion parts, medical implants, laminated products, conductive rubber, fiber coatings, foam rubber.


3. The main applications of silicone resin are varnish, insulating paint, moulding compounds, protective coatings, packaging materials, bonding coatings, pressure-sensitive adhesives, laminating resins, film-removing agents, adhesives, brick and stone waterproofing agents.


4. Silane coupling agent is mainly used in paint, plastic rubber processing and adhesives.


Silicone can not only be used as a basic material and structural material in a large number of industrial applications, but also can be used as a supplement or auxiliary material to share with other materials or improve the technological properties of other materials.