Relationship Between Filler Type, Thermomechanical Properties, and Aging of RTV Silicone Foams

Torres, Xavier Malachi; Stockdale, John Robert; Pacheco, Adam; Legett, Shelbie Annette; Bezek, Lindsey Bernadette; Benedikt, Bart Jozef; Labouriau, Andrea; Adhikari, Santosh

doi:10.3390/polym17141998

Relationship Between Filler Type, Thermomechanical Properties, and Aging of RTV Silicone Foams

Journal Article · Mon Jul 21 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · Polymers

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17141998· OSTI ID:2588074

^[1]; ^[1]; Pacheco, Adam ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]; Benedikt, Bart Jozef ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Room-temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone foams are used in many industrial applications that require the material to perform over long time periods. However, mechanical properties tend to deteriorate when these foams age under a compressive load. The chemical aging is attributed to the presence of unreacted functional groups of the prepolymers, residues from acid, and catalytically active tin (II) species. Here, an optimized thermal treatment of an RTV foam that achieves completion of curing reactions and deactivation of reactive species is proposed. Foams that were thermally aged for three months under compressive load showed no signs of compression set, indicative of the effectiveness of the implemented post-curing approach. In addition, the effects of fillers (diatomaceous earth, fumed silica, and carbon nanofibers) on thermomechanical properties were investigated. Tensile strength, tear strength, and thermal conductivity increased when these fillers were added to the unfilled RTV formulation, with carbon nanofibers (CNFs) being the most effective filler. Rheological studies of RTV formulations indicated that 2.5 wt.% of CNFs is the upper limit that can be added to the RTV formulation.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: 89233218CNA000001

OSTI ID:: 2588074

Report Number(s):: LA-UR--24-28516; 10.3390/polym17141998; 2073-4360

Journal Information:: Polymers, Journal Name: Polymers Journal Issue: 14 Vol. 17; ISSN 2073-4360

Publisher:: MDPI AGCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (29)

Organotin catalysts in organosilicon chemistry: Organotin catalysts in organosilicon chemistry Cervantes, Jorge; Zárraga, Ramón; Salazar-Hernández, Carmen Applied Organometallic Chemistry, Vol. 26, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1002/aoc.2832	journal	March 2012
Stress relaxation studies of model silicone RTV networks Stein, Judith; Prutzman, Lori C. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 36, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/app.1988.070360305	journal	July 1988
The action of tin compounds in condensation‐type RTV silicone rubbers van Der Weij, Frederik Willem Die Makromolekulare Chemie, Vol. 181, Issue 12, p. 2541-2548 https://doi.org/10.1002/macp.1980.021811211	journal	December 1980
Highly compressible piezoresistive strain sensor with a semi-IPN structure based on PU sponge/RTV silicone rubber/MWCNTs Eghbalinia, Siroos; Katbab, AliAsghar; Nazockdast, Hossein Journal of Polymer Research, Vol. 29, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-022-03315-9	journal	October 2022
A comprehensive review of hydrophobic silica and composite aerogels: synthesis, properties and recent progress towards environmental remediation and biomedical applications Akhter, Faheem; Jamali, Abdul Rauf; Abbasi, Mahmood Nabi Environmental Science and Pollution Research, Vol. 30, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-24689-9	journal	December 2022
Crystallization of polydimethylsiloxane: effect of silica filler and curing Aranguren, Mirta I. Polymer, Vol. 39, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0032-3861(97)10252-X	journal	September 1998
Thermal ageing studies on room-temperature vulcanised polysiloxane rubbers Patel, M.; Skinner, A. R. Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 73, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0141-3910(01)00118-5	journal	January 2001
Morphology and thermal properties of PLA–cellulose nanofibers composites Frone, Adriana N.; Berlioz, Sophie; Chailan, Jean-François Carbohydrate Polymers, Vol. 91, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2012.08.054	journal	January 2013
Hydrophobic and oleophilic carbon nanofiber impregnated styrofoam for oil and water separation: A green technology Baig, Nadeem; Alghunaimi, Fahd I.; Saleh, Tawfik A. Chemical Engineering Journal, Vol. 360 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2018.10.042	journal	March 2019
Effect of fumed silica properties on the thermal insulation performance of fibrous compact Lian, Tseng-Wen; Kondo, Akira; Kozawa, Takahiro Ceramics International, Vol. 41, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2015.04.076	journal	September 2015
The implementation of a visco-hyperelastic numerical material model for simulating the behaviour of polymer foam materials Briody, Conor; Duignan, Barry; Jerrams, Steve Computational Materials Science, Vol. 64 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.commatsci.2012.04.012	journal	November 2012
A review on the Mullins effect Diani, Julie; Fayolle, Bruno; Gilormini, Pierre European Polymer Journal, Vol. 45, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2008.11.017	journal	March 2009
Fiber aspect ratio effect on mechanical and thermal properties of carbon fiber/ABS composites via extrusion and long fiber thermoplastic processes Hwang, Daekyun; Cho, Donghwan Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Vol. 80 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiec.2019.08.012	journal	December 2019
Multi-technique investigation on the surface interaction of diatomaceous earth with organic phase change material: Experimental and molecular dynamics aspects Ishak, Shafiq; Lgaz, Hassane; Mandal, Soumen Journal of Molecular Liquids, Vol. 391 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2023.123292	journal	December 2023
A Bayesian analysis of the compression set and stress–strain behavior in a thermally aged silicone foam Coons, J. E.; McKay, M. D.; Hamada, M. S. Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 91, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2005.11.009	journal	August 2006
Mössbauer and NMR characterization of tin octoate: Neat and residues in RTV foams Labouriau, Andrea; Taylor, Dean; Stephens, Thomas S. Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 91, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2005.11.014	journal	August 2006
Mössbauer, NMR and ATR-FTIR spectroscopic investigation of degradation in RTV siloxane foams Labouriau, Andrea; Cox, Jonathan D.; Schoonover, Jon R. Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 92, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2006.11.017	journal	March 2007
Compression set in gas-blown condensation-cured polysiloxane elastomers Patel, Mogon; Chinn, Sarah; Maxwell, Robert S. Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 95, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2010.07.038	journal	December 2010
Influence of cross-linker and tin (II) bis-2-ethylhexanoate on compression set characteristics of poly(dimethylsiloxane) elastomer networks Robinson, Mathew W. C.; Swain, Anthony C.; Khan, Niaz A. Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 116 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2013.10.011	journal	June 2015
The effects of gamma irradiation on RTV polysiloxane foams Labouriau, Andrea; Cady, Carl; Gill, John Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 117 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2015.03.021	journal	July 2015
Aging mechanisms in RTV polysiloxane foams Labouriau, Andrea; Robison, Tom; Meincke, Linda Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 121 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2015.08.013	journal	November 2015
Microstructure of pyrolyzing RTV silicone Oruganti, Sreevishnu; Mansour, Nagi N.; Panesi, Marco Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 207 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2022.110237	journal	January 2023
Development of Macroporous Silicone Rubber for Acoustic Applications Kumar, Anil; Mollah, Asfak Ali; Keshri, Anup Kumar Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 55, Issue 32 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.6b02051	journal	August 2016
Hydrophobic and Metallophobic Surfaces: Highly Stable Non-wetting Inorganic Surfaces Based on Lanthanum Phosphate Nanorods Sankar, Sasidharan; Nair, Balagopal N.; Suzuki, Takehiro Scientific Reports, Vol. 6, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep22732	journal	March 2016
On the linear dependence of a carbon nanofiber thermal conductivity on wall thickness Askounis, Alexandros; Yamada, Yutaka; Ikuta, Tatsuya AIP Advances, Vol. 6, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4968831	journal	November 2016
The role of carbon nanofiber defects on the electrical and mechanical properties of CNF-based resins Guadagno, Liberata; Raimondo, Marialuigia; Vittoria, Vittoria Nanotechnology, Vol. 24, Issue 30 https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-4484/24/30/305704	journal	July 2013
A pseudo–elastic model for the Mullins effect in filled rubber Ogden, R. W.; Roxburgh, D. G. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 455, Issue 1988 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.1999.0431	journal	August 1999
Diatomaceous Earth: Characterization, thermal modification, and application Reka, Arianit A.; Pavlovski, Blagoj; Fazlija, Emira Open Chemistry, Vol. 19, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1515/chem-2020-0049	journal	April 2021
Interplay between Shelf Life and Printability of Silica-Filled Suspensions Torres, Xavier M.; Stockdale, John R.; Adhikari, Santosh Polymers, Vol. 15, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15214334	journal	November 2023

Similar Records

Coupled aging effects in nanofiber-reinforced siloxane foams

Journal Article · Wed Jan 10 19:00:00 EST 2018 · Polymer Degradation and Stability · OSTI ID:1417828

Aging mechanisms in RTV polysiloxane foams

Journal Article · Sun Aug 23 20:00:00 EDT 2015 · Polymer Degradation and Stability · OSTI ID:1467319

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
PDMS
carbon nanofibers
diatomaceous earth
fumed silica
room temperature vulcanizing foams
tin catalyst

Relationship Between Filler Type, Thermomechanical Properties, and Aging of RTV Silicone Foams

Citation Formats

References (29)

Similar Records

Related Subjects