What Are All The Catalysts Of Silicone?

What is catalysts?

Catalysis is the increase in the rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of an additional substance called a catalyst. With a catalyst, reactions occur faster and require less activation energy.

Because catalysts are not consumed in the catalyzed reaction, they can continue to catalyze the reaction of further quantities of reactant. Often only tiny amounts are required.

Why we need to use the catalysts?

Catalysts speed up the rate of reactio, which saves money because the plant doesn’t have to operate for as long to produce the same amount of product.

Catalysts allow the reaction to work at a much lower temperature. This reduces the energy used up in a reaction which is good for sustainable development.

They save industries money.

They never get used up in a reaction so once you’ve got them you can use them over and over again.

In silicone area, the normal catalysts is Vulcanizing agent.

The Vulcanizing agent is a material, usually sulfur, that is used in the chemical process of vulcanization. Vulcanization Agent gives natural rubber or other polymers( like silicone) more strength, elasticity and durability by the addition of sulfur or  other accelerators such as zinc oxide and peroxide. These additives add cross-links (bridges) to individual polymer chains to make them stronger and more durable.

 What are all the catalysts of silicone?

Silicone vulcanizing agents currently include: 2,4-Dichlorobenzoyl peroxide (C14H6Cl4O4) , 2,5-Dimethyl(C32H66O2), The 2,5-Dimethyl(C32H66O2) have the odor and odorless vulcanizing agent, Platinum Catalysts（Heterogeneous catalyst) and so on. Most of the vulcanizing agent what we used in our mass production are :

1. 2,4-Dichlorobenzoyl peroxide (C14H6Cl4O4): 2,4-Dichlorobenzoyl peroxide (C14H6Cl4O4) is used for cross-linking of silicone extrusion and calendering process products. It is suitable for the production of mid-range silicone rubber products and the production of extruded products with slightly higher transparency requirements. The product has high transparency, anti-yellowing, low odor, no bubbles, excellent electrical properties and heat resistance. The decomposition temperature is low and the decomposition speed is fast, so it is a common vulcanizing agent for rubber compounds with slightly higher requirements for extrusion molding.

The advantages of 2,4-Dichlorobenzoyl peroxide are low decomposition temperature and fast decomposition speed, so it is a common vulcanizing agent for rubber compounds for extrusion molding. However, due to the low decomposition temperature, the scorch performance is not good, so the amount should be as small as possible. The decomposition products are 2.4-dichlorobenzoic acid and 2.4-dichlorobenzene, which are toxic and affect the heat resistance of rubber compounds. Because carbon black interferes with the vulcanization of 2,4-Dichlorobenzoyl peroxide, it cannot be used in rubber compounds containing carbon black. When the amount of peroxide exceeds the appropriate amount, the elongation, tear resistance and other properties of the vulcanized rubber will decrease, and the influence of 2,4-Dichlorobenzoyl peroxide will be greater. 2,4-Dichlorobenzoyl peroxide is a general-purpose vulcanizing agent, generally used in extrusion, the vulcanization temperature is 90 degrees

2. 2,5-Dimethyl(C32H66O2) has a small amount of sulfur, fast vulcanization speed, no volatilization, no fire, suitable for crosslinking of vinyl silicone rubber, polyethylene, and ethylene-propylene rubber. It is applied to environmental protection standards of molded products made of various silicone materials: such as silicone buttons, bracelets, mobile phone cases, watch straps, silicone gifts and other fields.

2,5-Dimethyl has high decomposition temperature and good scorch performance. Since it does not produce products with carboxyl groups during decomposition, it does not affect the thermal stability of the rubber compound. 2,5-Dimethyl can be used in rubber compounds containing carbon black and has a wide range of applications. When using 2,5-Dimethyl, the vulcanized rubber has lower compression deformation and higher elongation.2,5-Dimethyl is a special vulcanizing agent for vinyl. It is used for molding and the vulcanization temperature is 175 degrees.

3. The fast and odorless vulcanizing agent 2,5-Dimethyl(C32H66O2)  has excellent dispersibility, fast vulcanization speed, and odorless vulcanized silicon products. It is suitable for cross-linking vinyl silicone rubber, polyethylene, and ethylene-propylene rubber. It is applied to food-grade standards of molded products made of various silicone materials: such as silicone mobile phone cases, silicone sheets, silicone gifts, silicone kitchen supplies and other fields.

4. Platinum Catalysts（Heterogeneous catalyst）is a two-component platinum addition molding silicone vulcanizing agent, mainly used for low-temperature vulcanization and odorless silicone products. Such as: extruded silicone tube, shaped strip, LED light bar, silicone calendered coil, silicone wire, etc. Products vulcanized with platinum vulcanizing agent can pass FDA and ROHS certification for primary vulcanization, and LFGB certification for secondary vulcanization.

Conclusion

In ZSR Group,We has rich experience in producing Custom silicone products with FDA or LFGB Approved standard products. That means the catalysts of silicone what we used is odorless vulcanizing agent and Platinum Catalysts（Heterogeneous catalyst）. We have the FDA register list number is 3011147430.

Any Silicone products or Silicone project need technical support, Contact us.

You also can custom Silicone products at ZSR Group.