In the long history of materials science, the emergence of silicone rubber and silicone oil has been like a lamp lighting up the night, bringing about tremendous changes to human society. These two seemingly ordinary materials, with their unique properties, have quietly permeated every corner of our lives, becoming "invisible heroes" that transform the world.
一、Silicone Rubber: An Elastic Legend from the Laboratory to the World
The discovery of silicone rubber is the result of scientists' unremitting exploration. In early research on organosilicon compounds, scientists accidentally discovered a substance with special elasticity. After countless experiments and improvements, silicone rubber gradually took shape. Its molecular structure is based on silicon-oxygen bonds (Si-O), which endow it with inherent stability, while the organic groups attached to the skeleton add unique flexibility and plasticity.
(一) Magical Properties Enable Wide Applications
One of the most amazing characteristics of silicone rubber is its excellent resistance to high and low temperatures. Whether in the extreme cold of Antarctica or the high-temperature environment of industrial furnaces, silicone rubber can maintain stable performance. At -60°C, ordinary rubber becomes as brittle as glass and breaks easily when stressed, while silicone rubber remains soft and elastic, like a warm woolen glove in winter, allowing flexible operations. In high-temperature environments, when the temperature reaches 250°C or higher, ordinary rubber quickly melts and deforms, but silicone rubber holds its position, maintaining its shape and performance like a steel warrior, safeguarding the safe operation of equipment. For this reason, silicone rubber has become an indispensable material in the aerospace field, used to manufacture aircraft engine seals, spacecraft thermal insulation materials, etc., ensuring the safety of aircraft in extreme environments.
Silicone rubber also has strong chemical stability. In the face of chemical "attacks," it is like a warrior in armor, fearless. Whether highly corrosive sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, or soluble organic solvents, it is difficult to cause substantial damage to silicone rubber. In chemical production, pipelines and reactors filled with dangerous chemicals often leak due to the corrosion resistance of ordinary materials. However, pipelines and linings made of silicone rubber can resist the erosion of chemicals for a long time, ensuring the safety and stability of the production process and reducing maintenance costs and safety risks for enterprises.
In the medical field, silicone rubber shows its gentle side. Due to its good biocompatibility, silicone rubber lives in harmony with human tissues, does not cause immune rejection reactions, and is non-toxic and harmless. Like a "close partner" of the human body, it can be found in large artificial organs such as artificial heart valves and joints and small medical devices such as medical catheters and syringe pistons. These medical products made of silicone rubber have helped countless patients recover their health, improve their quality of life, and made important contributions to the development of medical care.
(二) Diverse Classifications Meet Diverse Needs
Silicone rubber can be divided into heat-cured and room-temperature-cured types according to different vulcanization characteristics. Heat-cured silicone rubber requires vulcanization under high temperature and pressure, and its products have the characteristics of high strength and stable performance, often used to manufacture auto parts, electronic and electrical accessories, and other products with high quality requirements. For example, the sealing gasket of an automobile engine needs to work in a high-temperature, high-pressure, and complex chemical environment, and heat-cured silicone rubber can well meet these needs to ensure the normal operation of the engine. Room-temperature-cured silicone rubber is more flexible and convenient, requiring no complex equipment and can be vulcanized at room temperature, suitable for on-site construction scenarios such as building sealing and temporary repair of electronic equipment. In construction, the gaps between doors, windows, and walls need to be sealed to prevent rain and dust from entering. Room-temperature-cured silicone rubber sealant can quickly and effectively complete this work, and the operation is simple and convenient.
二、Silicone Oil: Flowing "Liquid Gold"
The discovery of silicone oil is also a great surprise in the field of materials science. It is a general term for a class of polysiloxane compounds that appear liquid at room temperature. The molecular structure of silicone oil is relatively free, and the interaction between molecular chains is weak, giving it unique properties such as fluidity and low surface tension.
(一) Unique Properties Create Diverse Value
The low surface tension of silicone oil gives it good wettability and spreadability. Just like a drop of water rolling freely on a lotus leaf, silicone oil can quickly spread on the surface of various materials to form a uniform film. In the cosmetics industry, silicone oil is an important ingredient. In shampoos and conditioners, silicone oil can fill the damaged cuticles on the hair surface, making the hair smooth and easy to comb, reducing static electricity, and making the hair look more shiny. In skin care products, silicone oil can form a breathable protective film on the skin surface to prevent water loss, while making the skin feel smooth and delicate, playing a role in moisturizing and skin care.
Silicone oil also has good chemical stability and electrical insulation. In the electronics industry, silicone oil is widely used in transformer oil, capacitor oil, and other fields. In transformers, silicone oil can not only insulate to prevent current leakage and ensure the safe operation of power equipment but also effectively conduct the heat generated during transformer operation to dissipate heat, ensuring that the transformer works within a normal temperature range and extending its service life. In some precision electronic instruments, silicone oil is used as a lubricant to reduce friction between mechanical components and improve the accuracy and stability of the instruments.
In the food and pharmaceutical fields, silicone oil has become a trusted material due to its physiological inertness. In food processing, silicone oil can be used as a food-grade lubricant and release agent. When making cakes, cookies, and other foods, using silicone oil as a release agent can make the food smoothly release from the mold without sticking, ensuring the complete shape of the food and not affecting the safety of the food. In the medical field, silicone oil has important applications in ophthalmic surgery. When patients suffer from diseases such as retinal detachment, doctors inject silicone oil into the patient's eye to help the retina reattach using the supporting effect of the silicone oil, bringing hope of seeing light again to the patient.
(二) Rich Varieties Adapt to Different Scenarios
Silicone oil can be divided into many types such as methyl silicone oil, ethyl silicone oil, and phenyl silicone oil according to different chemical compositions. Different types of silicone oil have different performance characteristics and are suitable for different application scenarios. Methyl silicone oil is the most common type of silicone oil. It has excellent chemical stability, insulation, and hydrophobic properties and is widely used in daily chemicals, plastics, rubber, and other industries. In plastic processing, adding methyl silicone oil can improve the fluidity of plastics, reduce processing temperature, and improve the surface finish of plastic products. Phenyl silicone oil has higher high-temperature resistance and better optical properties and is often used in high-temperature lubrication and optical instrument protection. In some high-temperature industrial production equipment, high-temperature-resistant lubricants are required, and phenyl silicone oil can well meet this need to ensure the normal operation of the equipment under high-temperature conditions.
三、Application Fields: Ubiquitous Presence
The application scope of silicone rubber and silicone oil is extremely wide, covering almost all areas of our life and production.
In daily life, we often come into contact with silicone rubber and silicone oil products. Silicone kitchen utensils in the kitchen, such as silicone spatulas, silicone bowls, and silicone steamer pads, use the high-temperature resistance, non-toxic and odorless, and non-stick properties of silicone rubber to bring convenience and fun to our cooking. Many of the keys on the mobile phones and computer keyboards we use are made of silicone rubber, whose good elasticity and durability make our input operations more comfortable and smooth. In personal care products, shampoos, conditioners, and body lotions all contain silicone oil, which cares for and nourishes our hair and skin.
In the industrial field, silicone rubber and silicone oil play an indispensable role. In the automotive manufacturing industry, silicone rubber is used to manufacture automotive engine seals, gaskets, hoses, and other components, which can effectively prevent leakage of engine oil, coolant, exhaust gas, etc., and ensure the normal operation of the engine. Silicone oil is used as the damping fluid in automotive shock absorbers, which can absorb and relieve the vibration and impact generated during vehicle driving, improving the comfort and stability of the vehicle. In the construction industry, silicone rubber sealant is the main material for door, window, and curtain wall sealing. It can effectively waterproof, dustproof, and soundproof and has good weather resistance to ensure the sealing and durability of buildings. Silicone oil can be used as a concrete release agent to help concrete products demold smoothly, improving production efficiency and product quality. In the electronics industry, silicone rubber is used for packaging, insulation, and protection of electronic components, which can protect electronic components from the external environment and improve the reliability and stability of electronic products. Silicone oil is used for heat dissipation and lubrication of electronic equipment to ensure the normal operation of electronic equipment.
In the medical and health field, the application of silicone rubber and silicone oil has brought health and hope to patients. In addition to the artificial organs and medical devices mentioned earlier, silicone rubber is also used to manufacture medical catheters, breathing masks, medical gloves, and other products. These medical products need to have good biocompatibility and physical properties, and silicone rubber can well meet these requirements. The application of silicone oil in the medical field is also continuously expanding. In addition to ophthalmic surgery, it is also used as an excipient in some drug formulations to improve drug performance and efficacy.
四、Future Outlook: Embracing New Challenges and Creating New Wonders
With the continuous development of technology, silicone rubber and silicone oil are facing new opportunities and challenges. In the new energy field, they are expected to play important roles in solar cells, lithium batteries, and other aspects. For example, silicone rubber can be used to manufacture sealing materials for solar cells to improve the waterproof and dustproof performance of the batteries and extend their service life; silicone oil can be used as a heat dissipation medium for lithium batteries to help the batteries maintain a suitable temperature during charging and discharging, improving battery performance and safety. In the environmental protection field, the development of degradable and recyclable organosilicon materials has become a future development direction. Through technological innovation, silicone rubber and silicone oil can be treated more environmentally friendly after use, reducing environmental pollution and achieving sustainable development. In the field of intelligent materials, combining silicone rubber and silicone oil with intelligent technologies to develop materials with intelligent response characteristics, such as materials that can automatically adjust their performance according to changes in temperature, pressure, etc., these materials will have broad application prospects in intelligent robots, wearable devices, and other fields.
These two magical materials, silicone rubber and silicone oil, have continuously brought surprises to humans since their birth. In the future, with the continuous progress of technology, they will continue to leverage their advantages, create new wonders in more fields, and make greater contributions to the development of human society.
Fumed type platinum cured Silicone Rubber for molding
