Johann Müller

High Performance Silicone-Coated Textiles: Developments and Applications

Silicones are used in an increasing variety of industrial textiles. The choice of a silicone fabric coating over a traditional organic coating material is generally driven by specific performance requirements For example, silicone rubber coatings are the materials ofchoice in very low temperature applications because they remain flexible at temperatures as low as -85°C. Silicones combine excellent heat and cold resistance with good weathering perfor mance, UV light stability, water repellency, good electrical properties, and flame retardance. Solventless processing may often be performed, silicone systems are available that can be proc essed with knife coating, dip coating, extrusion coating, calendering, and spray coating equip ment This paper will discuss the basic properties of silicone resin and rubber products, and compare their performance with several organic coaring materials. Some interesting niche ap plications for silicone-coated textiles include architectural fabrics, panel heaters, parachutes, and nonslip coatings.

New Silicones for Textile Coating without Solvents

C OATED TEXTILES AIZE being uscd to an increasing degree not only 111 medlc111e and fashion but also, particularly, in the technical sector. The coatings fulfill a great variety of functions. Electrical conductors arc protected against moisture, hc,it, and disruptive discharge. Glass-fiber textiles have to be coated for many applications, e.g., in the construction of bellow expansion joints, in order to make them resistant against weather influences, hot gases, chcniicals, or mechanical damages. Depending on the purpose for which they arc used, conveyor belts can be provided with separating or slip-proof features. The coatings of sickbed iiiscrts, protective clothing, or hosiery and corsrtry must additionally be skin neutral and pcrmcablc to water vapor. As in all other industrial sectors, rationalization of the production processes, material economies, optimization of the quality, and cnhanccmcnt of the environmental compatibility arc of forcmost Importance in the manufacture of coatcd fabrics. For this purposc, silicone rubbers with a highly specialized characteristics profile arc reql11red By virtue of their broadly varied spectrum of characteristics and great stress rcsmtancr-cven under extreme mechanical, thermal, and electrical influencr-mliconr rubbers have made their way m practically all areas of application. Since its beginnings in the 1940s, Wacker-Chcmic has created more than