Silicone rubbers bonding

For additional information on general aspects of silicone rubber bonding and latest developments in silicone rnbber technology, the reader is encouraged to refer to literature such as [17, 18]. 

Figure 7.29 Peel strength of RTV silicone rubber bonded to aluminum as a function of heat ag-ing. ...

Silicone Rubber. These polymers are based on chains of siUcon rather than carbon atoms, and owe thek temperature properties to thek unique stmcture. The most common types of siUcone mbbers are specifically and almost exclusively the polysdoxanes. The Si—O—Si bonds can rotate much more freely than the C—C bond, or even the C—O bond, so the siUcone chain is much more flexible and less affected by temperature (see Silicon COMPOUNDS, silicones). 

Silicones. Silicones are useful where high temperature resistance or compatibility with silicone components such as molded seals are needed. Silicone firewall insulation materials and silicone gaskets and seals are bonded with silicone rubber adhesives. 

Chen et al. utUized a direct chemical reaction with a given solution (wet treatment) to modify the surface of the silicone rubber. The presence of a layer of PEO on a biomaterial surface is accompanied by reductions in protein adsorption, and cell and bacterial adhesion. In order to obtain a PEO layer on top of the silicone rabber surface, the surface was firstly modihed by incorporating an Si-H bond using (MeHSiO) , and followed by PEO grafting to the surface using a platinum-catalyzed hydrosilylation reaction. These PEO-modified surfaces were demonstrated by fibrinogen adsorption both from buffer and plasma, as well as albumin adsorption from buffer. Reductions in protein adsorption of as much as 90% were noted on these surfaces. 

Foly(dimethylsiloxane) (silicone rubber) membranes are fabricated by hydrolysis of alkox-ysilyl terminal groups of silicone-rubber precursors [oligo(dimethylsiloxane) derivatives and crosslinking agents], followed by condensation. Covalent bonding of neutral carriers carrying an alkoxysilyl group to silicone rubber is, therefore, feasible by simple reaction of the silicone-rubber precursor with alkoxysilylated neutral carriers, as schematically shown in Scheme 1 [44]. 

As neutral carriers for the chemical modification, 16-crown-5 and calix[4]arene derivatives possessing a triethoxysilyl group (7) and (8) were designed for Na sensors. Triethoxysilylethyl-16-crown-5(7) was then mixed with a silicone-rubber precursor for the membrane fabrication accompanying covalent bonding of the neutral carrier. Comparison of IR spectra before and after extraction of the nonbonded neutral carrier... 

The design of bioeompatible (blood compatible) potentiometric ion sensors was described in this chapter. Sensing membranes fabricated by crosslinked poly(dimethylsiloxane) (silicone rubber) and sol gel-derived materials are excellent for potentiometric ion sensors. Their sensor membrane properties are comparable to conventional plasticized-PVC membranes, and their thrombogenic properties are superior to the PVC-based membranes. Specifically, membranes modified chemically by neutral carriers and anion excluders are very promising, because the toxicity is alleviated drastically. The sensor properties are still excellent in spite of the chemical bonding of neutral carriers on membranes. 

The ideal surface for contact with human blood is the surface of blood vessels, and the immediate surface contains heparinoid complexes. Heparin, a negatively charged polysaccharide, has been bonded to silicon rubber and other polymers. In one procedure, a quaternary ammonium compound is first adsorbed on die polymer substrate and heparin is 111 turn adsorbed on the positively charged surface. Chemical bonding of heparin has also been achieved. Such surfaces do not cause clotting of contacted blood. 

While unaffected by water, styrofoam is dissolved by many organic solvents and is unsuitable for high-temperature applications because its heat-distortion temperature is around 77°C. Molded styrofoam objects are produced commercially from expandable polystyrene beads, but this process does not appear attractive for laboratory applications because polyurethane foams are much easier to foam in place. However, extruded polystyrene foam is available in slabs and boards which may be sawed, carved, or sanded into desired shapes and may be cemented. It is generally undesirable to join expanded polystyrene parts with cements that contain solvents which will dissolve the plastic and thus cause collapse of the cellular structure. This excludes from use a large number of cements which contain volatile aromatic hydrocarbons, ketones, or esters. Some suitable cements are room-temperature-vulcanizing silicone rubber (see below) and solvent-free epoxy cements. When a strong bond is not necessary, polyvinyl-acetate emulsion (Elmer s Glue-All) will work. 

Hydrosilylation (the addition of R3SiH to a double bond) is an important reaction in the silicone polymer industry. It is used for curing silicone rubber, by cross-linking polymer chains. The reaction is catalyzed by Pt and Rh complexes, following the cycle shown in Figure 3.45. 

A silicone rubber adhesive layer is used in US-A-4081819 to bond an HgCdTe substrate, which includes an epitaxial layer, to a second substrate. The silicone rubber adhesive reduces the risk that the substrate cracks when cooled to cryogenic temperatures. 

An HgCdTe epitaxial layer is patterned to form individual devices 10a, 10b and 10c on a substrate 12 of HgCdTe. The substrate is bonded to a second substrate 14 by a silicone rubber adhesive 16. 

The permanency of the bonded heparin on a number of selected polymer systems has been measured using radiolabeled heparin (35S). It has been found that the loss of heparin after prolonged exposure to distilled water and isotonic saline at 37 °C. is almost negligible for heparinized polypropylene, silicone rubber, and Hydrin rubber. On the other hand, polypropylene loses 70% of its originally bound heparin after exposure to plasma for three hours. Hydrin rubber and silicone rubber lose only from 0 to 5%. The loss of heparin on the polypropylene may be attributed to displacement of the heparin molecules by a protein or combination of proteins. A series of experiments was performed in which... 

It can be seen that a-globulin removes more heparin than do any of the other plasma proteins. The reason for the loss of heparin from the polypropylene surface and not from the silicone rubber is not understood since the same chemical reactions are used to effect bonding to both polymers. 

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