In the vast universe of materials science, silicone rubber and silicone oil are like two superheroes with unique skills. With their respective "superpowers," they excel in different fields and shoulder the important mission of promoting era development. From addressing energy crises to boosting intelligent transportation, from safeguarding healthcare to exploring the unknown world, they are rewriting the chapters of human life and technological progress with their excellent properties.
I. Pioneers of Energy Transition: Boosting the Green Energy Revolution
In the wave of global energy transition, silicone rubber and silicone oil have become important forces promoting the development of green energy, just like the "green guardians" in the energy field.
In the solar photovoltaic industry, silicone rubber plays a key role in sealing and protection. Photovoltaic modules are long-term exposed outdoors, needing to withstand the tests of wind, rain, ultraviolet rays, and temperature changes. Silicone rubber sealant, with its excellent weather resistance and water resistance, can closely fill the gaps between the frame and glass of photovoltaic modules, preventing moisture and dust from entering and effectively protecting internal electronic components. Even under extreme weather conditions, from the high-temperature exposure in deserts to the severe cold in polar regions, silicone rubber sealant can still maintain stable performance, ensuring the power generation efficiency and service life of photovoltaic modules. According to statistics, the power attenuation rate of photovoltaic modules sealed with high-quality silicone rubber can be reduced by over 30%, significantly improving the economic benefits and reliability of solar power generation.
Silicone oil also shows unique value in the new energy battery field. Lithium batteries generate a lot of heat during charging and discharging, and if not dissipated in time, it will seriously affect battery performance and safety. The good thermal conductivity of silicone oil makes it an ideal battery heat dissipation medium. Researchers apply silicone oil to the battery heat dissipation system, and through special circulation design, silicone oil can quickly take away the heat generated by the battery, controlling the battery temperature within a reasonable range. At the same time, the chemical stability and electrical insulation of silicone oil can also effectively prevent internal short circuits of the battery, improving the safety and cycle life of the battery. In the battery packs of some new energy vehicles, after adopting silicone oil heat dissipation technology, the battery life can be increased by 10%-15%, and the battery service life is extended by 2-3 years.
II. Escorts of Intelligent Transportation: Enhancing Travel Experience and Safety
With the advent of the intelligent transportation era, silicone rubber and silicone oil have brought technological upgrades to fields such as automobiles and rail transit, acting as the "behind-the-scenes heroes" of intelligent transportation.
In the automobile manufacturing industry, silicone rubber is widely used in key parts such as engine sealing and shock absorption and noise reduction. When the automobile engine is running at high speed, it will generate high temperature, high pressure, and severe vibration, which ordinary rubber materials can hardly meet the needs. Silicone rubber, with its excellent high and low temperature resistance and sealing performance, has become the preferred material for engine seals. It can effectively prevent the leakage of engine oil, coolant, and exhaust gas, ensure the normal operation of the engine, and reduce maintenance costs. At the same time, shock-absorbing pads and soundproof materials made of silicone rubber can absorb and isolate the vibration and noise generated by the engine, making the interior environment quieter and more comfortable. For example, after a certain brand of automobile adopted a new type of silicone rubber shock-absorbing pad, the noise inside the car was reduced by 8-10 decibels, greatly improving the driving experience.
Silicone oil plays an important role in the transmission system and steering system of automobiles. As the damping fluid of automobile shock absorbers, silicone oil can automatically adjust the damping force of shock absorbers according to road conditions and vehicle driving conditions, making the vehicle drive more smoothly. In the steering system, silicone oil, as a lubricant, can reduce the friction between mechanical parts and improve the sensitivity and accuracy of steering. In addition, silicone oil can also be used for heat dissipation of automobile electronic equipment, ensuring that electronic components such as in-vehicle computers and sensors work normally in high-temperature environments, providing support for the development of intelligent driving technology.
In the field of rail transit, silicone rubber and silicone oil are equally indispensable. The car sealing of subways and high-speed rails requires materials with good elasticity and weather resistance. Silicone rubber sealant can closely fit the gaps of the car, effectively blocking wind, rain, and noise, creating a quiet and comfortable riding environment for passengers. Silicone oil is used for the braking system and bearing lubrication of rail transit, improving the reliability of braking and the service life of bearings, and ensuring the safe operation of trains.
III. Guardians of Health and Medicine: Protecting Life and Health
In the field of healthcare, silicone rubber and silicone oil have transformed into "guardians of life," providing important support for disease treatment and health protection.
The good biocompatibility of silicone rubber makes it an ideal material for manufacturing artificial organs and medical devices. Silicone rubber products such as artificial heart valves and artificial joints can work stably in the human body for a long time, helping patients restore normal physiological functions. For example, artificial heart valves made of silicone rubber have good flexibility and wear resistance, can accurately simulate the opening and closing movements of natural heart valves, reduce the risk of blood turbulence and thrombus formation, and improve the quality of life and survival rate of patients. In addition, silicone rubber is also used to manufacture medical devices such as medical catheters and syringe pistons. Its soft texture and non-toxic and harmless characteristics can reduce the pain and discomfort of patients during treatment.
Silicone oil also has a wide range of applications in the medical field. In ophthalmic surgery, silicone oil is an important material for the treatment of retinal detachment. When a patient has a retinal detachment, the doctor will inject silicone oil into the eyeball. Using the buoyancy and surface tension of silicone oil, the reset retina is pressed to promote the healing of the retina. Silicone oil can maintain a stable state in the eye and will not cause obvious inflammatory reactions, providing a guarantee for the patient's vision recovery. In addition, silicone oil can also be used as a drug carrier to prepare sustained-release drug preparations, so that the drug can be slowly released in the body, improving the therapeutic effect of the drug and reducing the number of administrations.
IV. Partners in Exploring the Unknown: Supporting Scientific Research and Discovery
On the road of scientific research and exploring the unknown, silicone rubber and silicone oil are the 得力 "partners" (得力伙伴) of researchers, helping humans break through limits and explore more mysteries.
In the field of deep-sea exploration, silicone rubber and silicone oil show powerful performance. The deep-sea environment is characterized by high pressure, low temperature, and strong corrosion, which places extremely high requirements on materials. Silicone rubber is used to manufacture the flexible robotic arms and sealing components of deep-sea detectors. The specially formulated silicone rubber can maintain good elasticity and sealing performance under the high pressure of 1,100 atmospheres, enabling the robotic arms to flexibly grab samples in the deep sea, and the sealing components to effectively prevent seawater leakage. Silicone oil is used as the working medium of the hydraulic system of deep-sea detectors. Its extremely low freezing point allows it to remain liquid at the deep-sea low temperature of -50°C, ensuring the normal operation of the hydraulic system and providing reliable support for deep-sea scientific research.
In space exploration, silicone rubber and silicone oil also play an important role. Spacecraft operating in space face extreme environments such as ultra-high vacuum, strong radiation, and huge temperature differences. Silicone rubber seals can maintain good sealing performance in the temperature difference range from -200°C to 150°C, preventing the leakage of gas inside the spacecraft. Silicone oil is used for the lubrication and heat dissipation of precision instruments of spacecraft. In an ultra-high vacuum environment, silicone oil will not volatilize and can maintain lubrication performance for a long time to ensure the normal operation of instruments. At the same time, its good thermal conductivity can help instruments dissipate heat in time and maintain the stable operation of equipment, helping humans explore the mysteries of the universe.
As the two superheroes in the material world, silicone rubber and silicone oil shoulder the mission given by the era in many fields such as energy, transportation, medical care, and scientific research with their extraordinary performance and wide applications. With the continuous progress of science and technology, they will continue to give full play to their advantages, continue to innovate and break through, make greater contributions to the development and progress of human society, and write more brilliant chapters.
Hexamethyldisiloxane MY 005-Mingyi Silicone
