Silicone Copolymers Enzymatic Synthesis and Properties

Department of Physics, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA 

Keywords Biocatalysis, silicone, enzyme, lipase, esterification, copolymer, polyester, polyamide, polycaprolactone, 

Silicon, the second most abundant element in the earths crust after oxygen, is widely used in the manufacture of siloxane-based materials. Such materials find application as semiconductors, glasses, ceramics, plastics, elastomers, resins, mesoporous molecular sieves, optical fibers, coatings. 

Silicones (RR SiO) have been known since the early part of the twentieth century. Kipping is known for many seminal contributions to mechanistic and preparative organo-silicon chemistry [11]. Silicones, in the absence of acidic or basic catalysts, exhibit exceptional thermal stability. For example, degradation of dimethylsilicone fluids begins at 350°C [12]. This thermal stability is being exploited, for instance, in the seahng of kitchen appliances, hair dryers. 

Atul Tiwari and Mark D. Soucek (eds.) Concise Encyclopedia of High Performance Silicones, (19-26) 2014 Scrivener Publishing LLC 

---