Chameleon-Like

Silicones are chameleons among materials. Displaying an astonishing capacity for change, they range from silicone fluids, emulsions and resins through to silicone elastomers. WACKER’s product portfolio covers some 3,000 different silicones. Hardly any material has so many useful properties. Silicone elastomers are used, e. g., to protect car electronics against moisture and dirt, and to prevent short circuiting in high-voltage power lines. Antifoam agents prevent washing machines from foaming over. Silicones give skin and hair a silky sheen. Specialty silanes and silicone resins keep the walls of buildings dry while allowing water vapor to escape from the interior. When it comes to applications, silicones offer almost unlimited potential.

Almost half of WACKER silicones are fluids, emulsions, resins and silanes, i. e. liquid in form. They usually act behind the scenes, as it were, providing special surface effects or serving as processing aids.

Most WACKER silicones are solids – i. e. rubbers that cure to form solid elastomers. Elastic silicone moldings are used in the plastics industry and many other sectors.