In the silicone industry, liquid silicone rubber (LSR) generally refers to vinyl polysiloxane made of high-temperature curing of two components. Usually, liquid silicone products are catalyzed by platinum, through pouring or injection molding.
Compared with high-temperature vulcanized solid silicone rubber, liquid silicone rubber does not need mixing, has low energy consumption, a short molding cycle, and high production efficiency, the required production site is small, and it can achieve a fully automated process. The curing mechanism of liquid silicone rubber determines that its curing process will not produce byproducts, and the finished product has a small shrinkage rate, can be deeply cured, and has better physical and electrical properties. In addition, because liquid silicone rubber has thixotropy, low viscosity at a high shear rate, and good fluidity, it is especially suitable for the preparation of fine products and can realize the manufacture of products with various complex shapes.
Liquid silicone rubber has many performance advantages and processing convenience greatly broadens its application field so that it has become a silicone material variety with rapid development, higher grade, higher product technology content, and higher added value in recent years. At present, liquid silicone rubber is mainly used in the fields of pregnancy and baby products, medical supplies, electronics and electrical, automobile, and daily consumer goods, and with the change of market demand and technological progress and continuous development.
• Low VOC content is the general trend of sensitive applications
The medical and health field including infant care is the largest application market of LSR. According to the statistics of a related report, the consumption of LSR in the domestic medical and health market in 2022 was about 27,000 tons. Due to its good biocompatibility, LSR is mainly used in milk bottles, pacifiers, medical catheters, medical device jackets, and cosmetic prostheses.
Infant care, medical care, and food contact are all sensitive application areas, and relevant legislative bodies have set strict purity standards to ensure product safety, such as “XV. Organosilicon “, the French decree of 25 November 1992, Swiss Regulation 817.023.21 on Contact Materials and Products for food and the European standard EN14350-2 for drinking equipment for infants and young children and EN1400 for pacifiers, etc.