Silicone oil

Description

The liquid form of the polymer that contains silicone, carbon and oxygen. Silicones were first discovered by F. Kipping in England in 1900, but were not commercially produced until 1943 by Dow Corning. They were called silicones because their empirical formula (R2SiO) is similar to that for ketones (R2CO) (Lewis, 1993). Silicone oils are usually formed with chains of dimethyl siloxane. They are very resistant to weathering, chemicals, water and high temperatures. Additionally, silicone oils are odorless, tasteless and have a low surface tension. Because of the low surface tension, they penetrate readily and can crawl long-distances over most types of surfaces. Silicone oils are used as lubricants, mold releasing agents, wetting agents and antifoaming agents. They can be crosslinked via a room-temperature vulcanization (RTV) process to produce a rubbery type solid.

Synonyms and Related Terms

aceite de silicona (Esp.); huile silicone (Fr.); olio siliconico (It.); óleo de silicone (Port.); polysiloxane; organosiloxane;

Other Properties

Miscible in methylene chloride.

Sources Checked for Data in Record

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 720

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• The Merck Index, Susan Budavari (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Whitehouse Station, NJ, 12th Edition, 1996 Comment: entry 8639

• Encyclopedia of Archaeology, Glyn E. Daniel, ed., Thomas Y. Crowell Co., New York, 1977 Comment: p. 873

• C.V.Horie, Materials for Conservation, Butterworth-Heineman, London, 1997 Comment: p.156

• Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976