Pex production

B ETTER YET
SILICONES AND SILANES IN THE PLASTICS
INDUSTRY

CREATING TOMORROW’S SOLUTIONS

Contents
Introduction
Silicones and silanes
Catalysis
Additives
Silane coupling agents
Silane crosslinking
WACKER at a glance

MORE VARIETY, EVEN STRONGER,
EVEN HOTTER

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Plastics dominated our lives more than
any other material in the 20th century.
And, if thehigh growth rates around the
world are anything to go by, they will
dominate this century as well.
They are extremely versatile materials
available in a wide range of technical
properties. There are today so many
types and grades available that even the
most diverse specifications imposed on
a material will be met. At the same time,
they offer enough flexibility to allow new
technicalchallenges to be met as these
arise – the solution here may be to
design novel polymers and copolymers,
to develop polymer blends or to modify
the properties of existing polymers by
different additives.

Silicones and silanes from WACKER
SILICONES offer a wealth of different
solutions not only for enhancing the
properties of plastics but also for processing them. The goal of this brochureis to show you the various application
areas that are possible.

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SILICONES AND SILANES
THE PROFESSIONAL QUALITY
MANAGERS

Commodity plastics

Polyethylene (PE-LD, PE-LLD, PE-HD), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC),
polystyrene (PS, EPS)

Engineering plastics

Styrene copolymers (ABS, SAN, ASA), polyamide (PA), polycarbonate (PC),
polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA),polyester (PET, PBT), polyacetal (POM), polyphenylene
ether (PPE) and blends (PC/ABS, PC/ASA, PPE/PS, PPE/PA etc.)

High-performance plastics

Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), liquid crystal polymers (LCP), polyarylsulfones (PSA, PES),
polyaryl ether ketones (PAEK), polyether imides (PEI)

Thermosets

Epoxy resins (EP), thermosetting polyurethane (PUR), unsaturated polyester resins (UP),
vinylester resins (VE), phenolic, melamine and urea resins (PF, MF, UF)

Silicone

Silane

R

O

Si
R

O

Si

R

Si

R

R

R
O

O

R

R

R

R

Si

R
O

O
Si

Si

O

O

R

R

Silicones and silanes from WACKER
SILICONES are not only essential aids
for designing polymers chemically; they
can also be added to polymers to modify
their properties,e.g. to enhance demolding properties and surface smoothness, to maximize impact strength and
flexibility, even at low temperatures, to
raise resistance to environmental influences, and to distribute the filler more
uniformly in the polymer while reinforcing
the bond between them.

R

Silicones and silanes from WACKER
SILICONES are needed:
– For polymerization catalysis
– As processchemicals and
additives
– For modifying polymers
– As coupling agents (adhesion
promoters)
– In silane crosslinking
For your convenience, we have grouped
the various polymers that stand to benefit from WACKER silicones and silanes
into four broad categories. Each section
lists the appropriate category for the
WACKER product concerned.

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C ATALYSIS
CONTROLLED VERSATILITY

Commodityplastics

WACKER silane

Chemical name

Engineering plastics

Silane
CHM-Dimethoxy

Cyclohexylmethyldimethoxysilane

Silane
CP2-Dimethoxy

Dicyclopentyldimethoxysilane

Silane
P-Triethoxy

Phenyltriethoxysilane

High-performance plastics

Thermosets

Structural formula

OMe
Si
Me

OMe

Si

OMe
OMe

Si
EtO

OEt
OEt

WACKER tetraethyl silicateStructural formula

WACKER Silicate TES 28

EtO

OEt
Si

EtO

Co-catalysts
Production of polyethylene and polypropylene by polymerization of olefins in the
presence of Ziegler-Natta catalysts is
carried out on an industrial scale and is
of major economic importance. Unlike
polyethylene, polypropylene and its
copolymers must be stereospecific if the
end products are to be of high...