Silicones obtained at low temperatures with the help of air
Russian scientists have developed a new method for synthesizing para-carboxyplenylsiloxanes, a unique class of organosilicon compounds. The resulting compounds are promising for creating self-healing, electrically conductive, heat- and frost-resistant silicones.
Organosilicon compounds, especially materials based on silicones, are among the most in-demand products. The ability to withstand incredible thermal and mechanical stress makes it possible to use silicones for sealing and protecting many items in aircraft and rocket construction. The strength and durability of silicones lends them to applications in medicine, food industry, and in many other fields of human life.
Though many silicone materials have already been created and their fields of application have been found, scientists believe that their usability potential has not been fully realized. This is due to one of the central problems in the modern chemistry of silicones, namely, the synthesis of organosilicon products with a "polar" (-C(O)OH, -OH, -NH2, etc.) functional group in an organic substituent. Such a moiety allows the easy introduction of other substituents, and the ability to tune the compound to repel water or to form stable aqueous emulsions, and to impart other "super-capabilities" to a material. This opens quite unique prospects for subsequent modification of these compounds in order to synthesize new copolymers, self-healing and conductive materials, and compounds for the storage and delivery of drugs and fuels. Just a small modification of a compound would also allow one to solve the problem of low mechanical strength and incompatibility of silicones with polymers, such as polyesters and others.