Silicone Fluids

A silicone oil is any liquid polymerized siloxane with organic side chains. The most important member is polydimethylsiloxane. These polymers are of commercial interest because of their relatively high thermal stability and their lubricating properties.

Silicone fluids are characterized by a very high thermal and thermooxidative resistance and have excellent resistance to temperatures from -60 to +300°C. Silicone fluids are also much for stable than organic polymers toward electromagnetic and particle radiation (UV, alpha, beta and gamma radiation). Moreover, silicone fluids are characterized by very low volatility, excellent shearing resistance, low surface tension and very good water repellency.
Silicone fluids are transparent, tasteless and odorless liquids with no known harmful effects. Their viscosities lie between 0.65 and 1,000,000 mm2/s depending on the type. Since there are only very weak intermolecular forces between the individual methylsilicone chains, they have a liquid consistency over wide ranges of their molecular weight.