Does silicone belong to plastic products?

Does silicone belong to plastic products?

Silica gel is a colloidal material made of silicate, which is mainly composed of silica, water and silicone monomers. Silica gel has the characteristics of high elasticity, high transparency, high stability and high temperature resistance, so it is widely used in various fields. Although silica gel is similar to plastic in some properties, it does not belong to plastic products from the point of view of chemical structure and preparation process.

First of all, there are obvious differences in the chemical structure of silicone and plastic. Plastics are generally composed of high molecular compounds, which produce long chain molecules through polymerization, forming a uniform continuous structure. The silica gel is mainly composed of silico-oxygen bonds, forming a network structure. The special structure of the silico-oxygen bond makes silica gel have the characteristics of hard colloidal materials, while plastics are usually soft colloidal materials.

Secondly, there are also obvious differences between silica gel and plastic in the preparation process. The preparation of plastics is generally carried out by hot melting, extrusion, injection molding and other processing methods to form products of different shapes and sizes. The preparation of silica gel is mainly carried out through the gel reaction of hydrated colloid, which needs to control the reaction conditions, ratio and pH value and other parameters, and then through drying and calcination and other steps, so that it forms a silico-oxygen bond network, and finally prepared into silicone products.

In addition, there are some differences between silicone and plastic in nature and use. The common characteristics of plastics are good insulation, mechanical strength and chemical stability, etc., which are widely used in daily life, industrial production and electronic fields. Silica gel has good thermal stability, wear resistance and chemical inertness and is widely used in food, medical, electronics and aviation and other fields. Common applications of silicone products include silicone bottle mouths, silicone bracelets and silicone seals.

In summary, although silica gel is similar to plastic in some properties, there are obvious differences between silica gel and plastic in terms of chemical structure, preparation process and application fields. Silica gel is a unique colloidal material with its own unique properties and application value. Therefore, silicone does not belong to plastic products.