What is lubricating silicone grease made of
What is lubricating silicone grease made of? Its raw materials include three parts: base oil, thickener, and additive. The so-called base oil generally refers to petroleum fractions that have been refined and dewaxed to a certain quality standard. For lubricants with special requirements, liquid organic compounds containing oxygen, silicon, or fluorine are also needed as base oils. As for thickeners, they are mainly salts of fatty acids, also known as soaps, which thicken the base oil to form a semi-solid gel. The soap we commonly use is the sodium salt of fatty acids. Because sodium salts are easily soluble in water, sodium soap is generally not used as a thickener for lubricating grease. In reality, calcium soap of fatty acids is more commonly used, as well as lithium soap, barium soap, and aluminum soap.
Silicone structural adhesives have their own characteristics, some are heat-resistant, some are water-resistant, some are moisture resistant, salt spray resistant, and so on, each with its own purpose. Sometimes, several types of soaps are combined and used as needed, including additives and fillers. In order to improve certain properties of lubricating grease, it is generally necessary to add additives with different functions such as anti-oxidation and rust prevention. Sometimes solid materials such as graphite and molybdenum disulfide are added as fillers to improve the pressure resistance and high temperature resistance of lubricating grease. Depending on the type of base oil, thickener, and additive used and their content, there are many varieties of lubricating silicone grease.