The many silicone benefits make this liquid or rubber-like synthetic substance suitable for many manufacturing environments such as sealants, coatings, or adhesives. This article will help you understand the various benefits of silicone.
1. High Resistance to Heat and Cold
Silicone is extremely resistant to heat and cold compared to any other elastomer. This will ensure that your product retains its properties and shape in a wide range of temperatures.
More so, at low temperatures silicone is capable of maintaining its flexibility.
Let’s put this into perspective:
| Temperature | Standard Silicone Material |
| Highest temperature | Between 400° F and 450° F |
| Low temperature | Between -65° F and -100° F |
However, these may vary depending on the additives in the silicone material. Therefore, you can use silicone at high and cryogenic temperatures.
Furthermore, even at high temperatures, silicone is virtually incombustible. However, it will start becoming brittle since the heat may compromise the mechanical properties.
Resistant to high temperatures is one of the benefits of silicone gaskets.
2. Silicone is More Versatile
You can easily customize silicone to achieve different performance and procedural requirements. By only adjusting some compound elements in silicone you can improve the resistance properties.
It’s for this reason that you will find most design testing considers silicone a great fit for testing. For example, a silicone sponge acts as a better seal when dealing with gases and liquids.
Moreover, the benefits of silicone hoses include flexibility, resistance to high temperatures, and most chemicals.
Other silicone benefits are compatibility with most additives. That is, silicone is compatible with most additives hence you can easily improve certain inherent properties. Take for example:
- For better flexibility add plasticizers
- To attain certain safety requirements you can add flame retardants, especially in the aerospace industry
- Colorants when you wish to add different colors to silicone products
- For improved mechanical strength, you will add certain reinforcements
- There are many fillers you can add to improve the electrical, mechanical, optical, or thermal properties of silicones
All these make silicone one of the most versatile synthetic materials for many applications.
3. Excellent Electrical Insulation
Silicone does not allow electrical conductivity. It has also very low chemical reactivity and is a good fire-retardant. This makes it ideal for use as a sealing material in different industries and applications.
Actually, the superior electrical insulation explains why silicone cable protector is a perfect choice I many applications. Even at high temperature or frequency, silicone remains a perfect insulator.
However, by adding fillers such as graphite or carbon, silicone will be conductive.
4. Health and Safety
Silicone is non-reactive, non-toxic, and odorless. This makes it a great fit for the production of different kitchen and healthcare materials. They do not release any harmful substances in heated or freezing temperatures.
For instance, the benefits of silicone breast implants are well known. That is, they are non-reactive, safe, biocompatible, etc. Additionally, silicone catheter benefits have improved patient handling in the healthcare industry.
Notably, liquid silicone rubber has been approved by the FDA for injection molding many products in the healthcare and food industries.
5. Environmentally Friendly
Silicone does not pose any hazardous effects on the environment. Even with heating or freezing silicone is non-toxic, odorless, and non-reactive.
Silicone is non-biodegradable making it more recyclable. Using specialized facilities, you can easily recycle silicone without emitting any toxic elements.
6. Silicone Rubber has Low Chemical Reactivity
Silicone is extremely able to withstand external environmental conditions. For instance, unlike other elastomers, one of the main benefits of silicone is low susceptibility to UV, high temperatures, and chemicals.
This means your products will always be in good condition regardless of different environmental exposure.
However, even as you evaluate silicone resistance to chemicals, considering the environmental conditions is also critical. Remember, the temperature may make silicone susceptible to chemical attack.
Let’s look at how silicone rubber reacts with common chemicals.
| Chemical/Solvent | Degree of Chemical Resistance on Silicone Rubber Material |
| Citric Acid | Highly resistant |
| Hydrochloric acid (3%) | Highly resistant |
| Hydrofluoric acid | Silicone disintegrates |
| Dilute phosphoric acid | Highly resistant |
| Sulfuric acid (10%) | Highly resistant |
| Concentrated sulfuric acid | Silicone disintegrates |
| Nitric acid (7%) | Varies from highly to reasonably resistant depending on the concentration |
| Acetic acid (5%) | Highly resistant |
| Ammonia hydroxide (10%) and concentrated | Highly resistant |
| Potassium hydroxide | Highly resistant |
| Sodium hydroxide | Highly resistant |
You can learn more about silicone chemical resistance.
7. Excellent Mechanical Performance
Silicone has extremely high tolerance which yields high performance in a wide temperature range. Under high heat, silicone products will retain their compression and flexibility under low heat.
More so, its excellent electrical insulation and durability significantly indicate long-term performance.
8. Color
Nothing beats silicone when it comes to color. Silicone provides control over a wide full-color range. This provides you with an opportunity to customize the look of your products more than any ordinary elastomer.
9. Ultraviolet and Ozone Protection.
Silicone is not susceptible to UV making it ideal for outdoor usage. It’s capable of withstanding sunlight for a long time without drying or cracking out
This will be ideal for you if you are looking to produce parts that will be directly exposed to sunlight. Window seals and doors are some of the products you can produce using silicone.
10. Easy to Sterilize
Sterilization is an important aspect of the medical and food industries. The medical-grade liquid silicone rubbers can withstand most sterilization procedures. Whether you intend to use steam autoclaving, heating, or mild chemical cleaning, it will not affect silicone products.
These make silicone safe to use.
11. Great Water-Repellency
Swimwear, diving masks, and goggles are made of silicone which has high water repellency. Silicone helps to keep water from coming into contact with the body. Additionally, silicone is very light making it ideal for these products.
More Resources:
- Polysiloxane
- Liquid Silicone Rubber Properties
- Liquid Silicone Rubber
- Silicone Manufacturing Process
Conclusion
If you looking for an elastomer that can withstand extreme temperatures, and is easily customizable and for outdoor usage then silicone is a great fit.