In the journey of human exploration into the deep sea, extreme high-pressure, high-salt, and high-corrosion environments pose strict challenges to material performance. With excellent weather resistance, chemical stability, and mechanical properties, silicone rubber and silicone oil have become the "material vanguards" in marine technology. From 11,000-meter deep-sea (exploration) to offshore new energy development, from seawater desalination to marine environmental protection, they are driving a material revolution in the blue economy, providing key support for human exploitation and utilization of marine resources.

一、Deep-Sea Exploration: Challenges to Material Limits

The extreme high-pressure environment of 1,100 atmospheres in the Mariana Trench is equivalent to 1.1 tons of weight per square centimeter, where traditional materials suffer severe deformation and performance degradation. Silicone rubber and silicone oil have broken through three major material bottlenecks in deep-sea exploration through molecular structure optimization:

High-pressure sealing breakthrough: Ordinary rubber undergoes permanent deformation at 600 atmospheres, while specially designed deep-sea silicone rubber introduces phenyl siloxane segments to keep molecular chains elastic under high pressure. The silicone rubber seals of a deep-sea detector have a leakage rate < 1×10^-9 mL/s at 1,200 atmospheres.

Seawater corrosion resistance: Seawater contains 3.5% salts and abundant chloride ions. The silicon-oxygen bond skeleton of silicone rubber is not prone to chemical reactions with salts, maintaining over 80% of tensile strength after 10 years of seawater immersion.

Low-temperature fluidity guarantee: Silicone oil reduces the freezing point to below -50℃ through molecular design, remaining liquid in -2℃ seawater of the Antarctic Ocean to ensure normal operation of deep-sea equipment hydraulic systems.

二、Silicone Rubber: Rigid Protection and Flexible Operation for Deep-Sea Equipment

（一）"Steel Skin" of Deep-Sea Robots

The shell and joint sealing of deep-sea robots rely on the composite properties of silicone rubber:

Pressure-resistant shell coating: Silicone rubber coating reinforced with nano-silica increases the compressive strength of the robot shell from 800MPa (traditional materials) to 1,200MPa, capable of withstanding hydrostatic pressure at 11,000 meters deep.

Flexible mechanical arm: Bionic mechanical arms made of silicone rubber can still achieve ±90° bending at 1,000 atmospheres. A deep-sea sampling robot successfully collected hydrothermal vent biological samples from the Mariana Trench using this technology.

（二）Long-term Protection for Submarine Pipelines

Submarine pipelines in offshore oil and gas development face seawater corrosion and high-pressure impact, while silicone rubber protective layers provide triple protection:

Electrochemical isolation: The insulation of silicone rubber blocks the electrochemical reaction between pipelines and seawater. Data from an oilfield shows that the corrosion rate of silicone rubber-protected pipelines decreases from 0.1mm/year to 0.01mm/year.

Mechanical buffering: The elastic silicone rubber layer absorbs mechanical vibrations from submarine earthquakes, extending the pipeline's fatigue life from 5 years to 15 years.

Biological antifouling: Silicone rubber with low surface energy groups reduces marine organism attachment by 90%, decreasing pipeline cleaning frequency.

三、Silicone Oil: Fluid Wisdom and Energy Management in Marine Technology

（一）"Blue Blood" of Deep-Sea Hydraulic Systems

Silicone oil shows unique advantages in deep-sea hydraulic systems:

Wide-temperature stability: Within -20℃ to 120℃, the viscosity change rate of silicone oil is < 20%. After a deep-sea submersible uses a silicone oil hydraulic system, it does not need to replace hydraulic oil when operating from the Antarctic to equatorial waters.

Low foaming property: Special formula silicone oil produces only 1/10 of the foam of traditional hydraulic oil under high-pressure circulation, ensuring precise control of deep-sea robots.

（二）Efficiency Enhancement for Marine Energy

In offshore wind power and tidal energy equipment, silicone oil plays multiple roles:

Gearbox lubrication: The high viscosity index of silicone oil maintains stable lubrication amid temperature fluctuations caused by wave impacts. An offshore wind farm extended the gearbox maintenance cycle from 6 months to 2 years after using silicone oil.

Cable insulation: The insulation layer of submarine cables filled with silicone oil has a breakdown voltage of 50kV/mm, 25% higher than traditional materials, and maintains stable dielectric properties under seawater immersion.

四、Marine Environmental Protection: Sustainable Innovation of Silicon-Based Materials

（一）Degradable Silicone Rubber for Marine Waste Solutions

Aiming at marine plastic pollution, researchers have developed photo-biodegradable silicone rubber:

Molecular design: Introducing hydrolyzable ester segments enables the material to degrade at a rate of 15%-20% per year in seawater, completely decomposing into silica and water.

Application scenario: An environmental organization trialed marine monitoring buoys made of degradable silicone rubber, which naturally decompose after 5 years, avoiding marine pollution caused by traditional plastic buoys.

（二）Silicone Oil-Based Eco-Friendly Antifouling Coatings

Replacing traditional copper-containing antifouling coatings, silicone oil-based antifouling technology achieves ecological friendliness:

Low surface energy principle: The surface energy of silicone oil coatings is reduced to below 20mN/m, making it difficult for marine organisms to attach. A merchant ship extended its hull antifouling cycle from 1 year to 3 years after using this coating.

Environmental safety: The biological toxicity index (BTI) of silicone oil antifouling coatings is <10, far lower than the International Maritime Organization (IMO) standard of 50, reducing impacts on marine ecosystems.

五、Future Material Visions for the Blue Economy

（一）Material Innovation for Deep-Sea Mining

For polymetallic nodule mining, combined solutions of silicone rubber and silicone oil are under development:

High-pressure mining machinery: Silicone rubber-sealed mining pumps can work stably at 5,000 meters deep, expected to achieve commercial application in 2026.

Mineral transportation pipelines: Silicone oil-lubricated pipeline systems can reduce mineral transportation resistance by 30%, enhancing the economy of deep-sea mining.

（二）Material Breakthroughs in Marine Carbon Capture

Silicone rubber shows new potential in marine carbon capture:

CO2 separation membrane: Silicone rubber-based nanocomposite membranes have a CO2 permeability of 2,000 Barrer and a selectivity coefficient >50, providing a material basis for direct carbon capture from seawater.

Submarine carbon sequestration: Flexible sequestration tanks made of silicone rubber can adapt to seabed topography changes, with a million-ton carbon sequestration demonstration project expected in 2030.

（三）Material Support for Polar Shipping

Aiming at the opening of Arctic shipping routes, low-temperature silicone rubber technology has made breakthroughs:

Extremely cold seals: Silicone rubber maintaining elasticity at -60℃ has been applied to pipeline sealing of Arctic LNG transport ships.

Anti-icing coatings: Silicone oil-modified anti-icing coatings reduce ice formation speed on ship decks by 60%, improving polar navigation safety.

From the 11,000-meter deep sea to the blue coast, silicone rubber and silicone oil are driving marine technological (revolution) through material innovation. They are not only the "pioneers" of deep-sea exploration but also the "material cornerstones" of the blue economy. As marine development advances toward deeper, broader, and more sustainable directions, these silicon-based materials will continue to break limits, providing infinite possibilities for human exploration and utilization of marine resources, and helping build a marine community with a shared future of harmony between humanity and nature.



Fluoro Silicone Gum-Mingyi Silicone