Improvement of Silicone Rubber Properties by Addition of Nano-SiO ₂ Particles

Aims To improve the comprehensive performances of a one-part room temperature vulcanized silicone rubber(RTV-1 SiR), Nano-SiO ₂ particles are employed as the reinforcing agent. Materials and Methods The SiO ₂ /RTV-1 SiR composite is prepared using PDMS, ND42, D-60 and HMDS-modified SiO ₂ particles by mixing method. And then, the mechanical and electrical properties, including shear strength, tensile strength, hardness Shore A and volume resistivity, are investigated using experimental method. Results The addition of nano-SiO ₂ particles can improve the properties of the SiO ₂ /RTV-1 SiR composite in different degrees. And, the incorporation of 25∼30 phr nano-SiO ₂ particles is found to be reasonable for silicone rubber composite with the best comprehensive performances. Conclusions The significant improvement of mechanical properties and electrical insulation of SiO ₂ may be contributed to the addition of modified nano-SiO ₂ particles. Additionally, the excellent comprehensive performances of SiO ₂ /RTV-1 SiR composite guarantee a potential applications as electrical-insulating adhesives.