Silicone rubbers applications

In electronics transmission and distribution at medium and high voltage, automotive, medical and many other applications silicone rubber is a preferred material for various reasons its outstanding chemical resistance, heat ageing, dielectric (insulating) properties, unlimited pigmentability, flexibility in the cold and a wide spectrum of further advantageous properties make it the ideal material. In many cases, there is no alternative to silicone rubber. 

MAJOR POLYMER APPLICATIONS silicone rubber, sintering, hot pressing matrices ... 

In spite of their high cost, silicone rubbers have over the last 40 years established themselves in a variety of applications where heat resistance and retention of properties over a wide range of temperatures are required. 

Whilst exhibiting the excellent low-temperature flexibility (with a Tg of about -80°C) and very good heat resistance (up to 200°C) typical of a silicone rubber, the fluorosilicones also exhibit good aliphatic oil resistance and excellent aging resistance. However, for some applications they have recently encountered a challenge from the polyphosphazenes (see Section 13.10). 

In an attempt to determine the applicability of JKR and DMT theories, Lee [91] measured the no-load contact radius of crosslinked silicone rubber spheres in contact with a glass slide as a function of their radii of curvature (R) and elastic moduli (K). In these experiments, Lee found that a thin layer of silicone gel transferred onto the glass slide. From a plot of versus R, using Eq. 13 of the JKR theory, Lee determined that the work of adhesion was about 70 7 mJ/m". a value in clo.se agreement with that determined by Johnson and coworkers 6 using Eqs. 11 and 16. 

Footnotes (a) Gaskets are also available in other materials, such as hydrogenated nitrile, neoprene, butyl rubber, hypalon, silicon rubber to meet various application requirrnents. (b) Viton is a Du Pont Co. trademark for a series of fluoroelastotners based on the copolymer ofvinylidene fluoride and hexafluoropropylene. 

Silicone rubber as a shaft seal and backing material has a number of special applications. It can be used over a temperature range of —60°C to 260°C (—76°F to 500°F) in air or suitable fluids. Its abrasion resistance is good with hard shafts having a 0.000254 mm RMS surface finish. Commercial grades of silicone rubber are compatible with most industrial chemicals up to 260°C (500°F). In lubricating oils, the limiting temperature is 120°C (250°F), but special types have been developed for use up to 200°C (392°F). 

Silicone rubber is not recommended for use with hot organic materials. If, for specific reasons, its use is contemplated, the manufacturer should be consulted regarding its possible use for a particular application. 

The major applications of rubbery materials today include automotive tires, rubber bands, tubing of various kinds, electric wire insulation, elastomeric urethane fibers for undergarments, and silicone rubber. Such types of polymers are important materials in our 21st-century world. 

Uses. There are about forty to fifty organic peroxides commercially available in more than seventy formulations designed for specific applications which include (1) initiators for vinyl monomer polymerizations, and copolymerizations of monomers such as vinyl chloride, ethylene, styrene, vinyl acetate, acrylics, fluoroolefms and buta-dienestyrene (2) curing agents for thermoset polyesters, styrenated alkyds and oils, silicone rubbers and poly allyl diglycol carbonates ... 

ADVANTAGES IN MODIFICATION OF NONDEGRADABLE SILICONE RUBBER FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS... 

Hron P. Hydrophilisation of silicone rubber for medical applications. Polym Int, 2003, 52, 1531-1539. Tcholakian RK and Raad. Durability of anti-infective effect of long term silicone sheath catheters impregnated with antimicrobial agents. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 2001, 45(7), 1990-1993. 

However, there seems to be some drawback in the solubility or dispersibility of ion-sensing material in silicone rubber. This is mainly because silicone rubber does not contain a large quantity of plasticizer as the membrane solvent, in which neutral carriers can be dissolved easily, unlike in plasticized-PVC ion-sensing membranes. This issue is serious, especially with silicone-rubber membranes containing neutral carriers that show high crystallinity. Valinomycin, a typical ionophore, seems applicable to silicone-rubber-based K" -selec-tive electrodes [7,8,12-14]. Conventional crown-ether-based neutral carriers are also quite soluble in silicone rubber. 

Applicability in biological ion assay is an important factor for biocompatible potentio-metric ion sensors. Attempts were made to determine Na" " concentrations in human blood sera by using silicone-rubber membrane Na+-ISFETs based on (5) [Fig. 17(a)] [29]. The found values for Na concentration in undiluted, 10-fold diluted, and 100-fold diluted serum samples are in good agreement with the Na" " calibration plots. Even in the undiluted serum samples, only a slight potential shift was observed from the calibration. This indicates that the calixarene-based silicone-rubber-membrane Na+-ISFETs are reliable on serum Na assay. For comparison with the silicone-rubber membrane, Na -ISFETs with corresponding plasticized-PVC membrane containing (2) or (5) were also tested for the Na assay. The found values of Na" " concentration... 

The materials selected for evaluation included three materials currently being used in these applications Biomer (Thoratec Laboratories Corporation, Emeryville, CA), representative of segmented ether-type polyurethanes Avcothane-51 (Avco Everett Research Laboratory, Inc., Everett, MA), a block copolymer of 10% silicone rubber and 90% polyurethane and Hexsyn (Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Akron, OH), a sulfur vulcanized hydrocarbon rubber that is essentially a polyhexene. Also selected, because of their easy availability, were Pellethane (Upjohn Company, North Haven, CT), an ether-type of polyurethane capable of being extruded in sheet form, and a butyl rubber formulation, compounded and molded at the National Bureau of Standards. The material thickness varied, but the sheets were generally about 1 mm thick. 

Iron oxide is used for compounding silicone rubbers where it is used to improve heat stability. Iron oxide, mainly ferric oxide, also finds application as a pigment. 

Fumed silica is prepared by burning volatile silicon compounds such as silicon tetrachloride. This type of silica contains less than 2% combined water and generally no free water. It reacts readily with hydroxyl groups. The particle size is in the region 5-10 nm. Fumed silicas are not generally used in conventional rubber compounding but find application with silicone rubber. The recognised surface area values for best reinforcement of silicone rubber by an amorphous silica lies between 150-400 m2/g. 

Particle size of the silica and tight control of its size distribution decides the ability of the compounded silicone rubber to be optically clear, even at quite high levels of addition. This feature can be used to advantage in a number of medical applications such as intraocular and contact lenses, medical tubing, flexible lights and a number of other industrial applications where sustained clarity of transparency is important. 

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