When it comes to advanced materials, silicone is undoubtedly a hot topic. Silicone is a type of polymer material containing silicon, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. It is significantly different from inorganic silicon materials and exhibits excellent performance in many fields. Let's take a deeper look at the characteristics, discovery process and application direction of silicone.
Differences between silicone and inorganic silicon:
First, there are obvious differences in the chemical structure between silicone and inorganic silicon. Silicone is a polymer material composed of silicon and carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and other elements, while inorganic silicon mainly refers to inorganic compounds formed by silicon and oxygen, such as silicon dioxide (SiO2). The carbon-based structure of silicone gives it elasticity and plasticity, making it more flexible in application. Due to the molecular structure characteristics of silicone, that is, the bond energy of Si-O bond (444J/mol) is higher than that of C-C bond (339J/mol), silicone materials have higher heat resistance than general organic polymer compounds.
Discovery of silicone:
The discovery of silicone can be traced back to the early 20th century. In the early days, scientists successfully synthesized silicone by introducing organic groups into silicon compounds. This discovery opened a new era of silicone materials and laid the foundation for its wide application in industry and science. The synthesis and improvement of silicone have made great progress in the past few decades, promoting the continuous innovation and development of this material.
Common silicones:
Silicones are a class of polymer compounds widely found in nature and artificial synthesis, including various forms and structures. The following are some examples of common silicones:
Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS): PDMS is a typical silicone elastomer, commonly found in silicone rubber. It has excellent flexibility and high temperature stability, and is widely used in the preparation of rubber products, medical devices, lubricants, etc.
Silicone oil: Silicone oil is a linear silicone compound with low surface tension and good high temperature resistance. Commonly used in lubricants, skin care products, medical devices and other fields.
Silicone Resin: Silicone resin is a polymer material composed of silicic acid groups with excellent heat resistance and electrical insulation properties. It is widely used in coatings, adhesives, electronic packaging, etc.
Silicone Rubber: Silicone rubber is a rubber-like silicone material with high temperature resistance, weather resistance, electrical insulation and other properties. It is widely used in sealing rings, cable protective sleeves and other fields.
These examples show the diversity of silicones. They play an important role in different fields and have a wide range of applications from industry to daily life. This also reflects the diversified characteristics of silicones as a high-performance material.
Performance Advantages
Compared with ordinary carbon chain compounds, organosiloxane (Polydimethylsiloxane, PDMS) has some unique performance advantages, which makes it show excellent performance in many applications. The following are some performance advantages of organosiloxane over ordinary carbon chain compounds:
High temperature resistance: Organosiloxane has excellent high temperature resistance. The structure of silicon-oxygen bonds makes organosiloxanes stable at high temperatures and not easy to decompose, which provides advantages for its application in high temperature environments. In contrast, many common carbon chain compounds may decompose or lose performance at high temperatures.
Low surface tension: Organosiloxane exhibits low surface tension, which makes it have good wettability and lubricity. This property makes silicone oil (a form of organosiloxane) widely used in lubricants, skin care products and medical devices.
Flexibility and elasticity: The molecular structure of organosiloxane gives it good flexibility and elasticity, making it an ideal choice for preparing rubber and elastic materials. This makes silicone rubber perform well in the preparation of sealing rings, elastic components, etc.
Electrical insulation: Organosiloxane exhibits excellent electrical insulation properties, which makes it widely used in the electronics field. Silicone resin (a form of siloxane) is often used in electronic packaging materials to provide electrical insulation and protect electronic components.
Biocompatibility: Organosiloxane has high compatibility with biological tissues and is therefore widely used in medical devices and biomedical fields. For example, silicone rubber is often used to prepare medical silicone for artificial organs, medical catheters, etc.
Chemical stability: Organosiloxanes exhibit high chemical stability and good corrosion resistance to many chemicals. This allows its application in the chemical industry to be expanded, such as for the preparation of chemical tanks, pipes and sealing materials.
Overall, organosiloxanes have more diverse properties than ordinary carbon chain compounds, which enables them to play an important role in many fields such as lubrication, sealing, medical and electronics.
Preparation method of organosilicon monomers
Direct method: Synthesize organosilicon materials by directly reacting silicon with organic compounds.
Indirect method: Prepare organosilicon through cracking, polymerization and other reactions of silicon compounds.
Hydrolysis polymerization method: Prepare organosilicon by hydrolysis polymerization of silanol or silane alcohol.
Gradient copolymerization method: Synthesize organosilicon materials with specific properties by gradient copolymerization. 、
Organosilicon market trend
Increasing demand in high-tech fields: With the rapid development of high-tech industries, the demand for organosilicon with excellent properties such as high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance and electrical insulation is increasing.
Medical device market expansion: The application of silicone in medical device manufacturing continues to expand, and combined with biocompatibility, it brings new possibilities to the field of medical devices.
Sustainable development: The improvement of environmental awareness promotes the research of green preparation methods of silicone materials, such as biodegradable silicone, to achieve more sustainable development.
Exploration of new application fields: New application fields continue to emerge, such as flexible electronics, optoelectronic devices, etc., to promote innovation and expansion of the silicone market.
Future development direction and challenges
Research and development of functional silicone: In response to the needs of different industries, silicone will pay more attention to the development of functionality in the future, such as functional silicone coatings, including special properties such as antibacterial and conductive properties.
Research on biodegradable silicone: With the improvement of environmental awareness, research on biodegradable silicone materials will become an important development direction.
Application of nano silicone: Using nanotechnology, research on the preparation and application of nano silicone to expand its application in high-tech fields.
Greening of preparation methods: For the preparation methods of silicone, more attention will be paid to green and environmentally friendly technical routes in the future to reduce the impact on the environment.
Post time: Jul-15-2024