Pioneer in the field of silicone

The exploration and research of organosilicon compounds can be traced back to the 18th century. The earliest French chemists C. Fredel and J. M. Crafts to silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4) as raw material and diethyl zinc (ZnEt2) in the tube in the high temperature reaction, the silicone compound tetraethylsilane (SiEt4). After that, a number of scholars or with a sealed tube or with the Grignard reaction (Grignard reaction), sodium condensation law (Wurtz reaction) and so on to synthesize a number of organosilicon compounds.

Frederick Stanley Kipping, a chemist at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, conducted a more systematic study of organosilicon compounds. The purpose of his study of silicone compounds was to compare the similarities and differences in the properties of silicon-based compounds with those of carbon-based compounds. One of his contributions was the synthesis of organochlorosilanes using the classical Grignard reaction, and he carried out extensive and in-depth research on silicone compounds. Since organosilicon compounds are highly susceptible to hydrolysis, he failed to fully anticipate the practical value and application prospects of these organosilicon low-molecular and high-molecular compounds, although he also produced siloxane cyclomers and viscous condensates. Silicone antifoaming emulsion is made of silicone paste emulsified by an emulsifier, and the quality of the silicone paste is critical to the performance of silicone antifoam agents. The quality of silicone paste is affected by the viscosity of dimethyl silicone oil, the hydrophilicity of silica, the addition of additives and processing technology and other factors.

Frederick Stanley Kipping

In addition, he formulated a naming principle for silicone compounds, using methylsilane (SiH4) as the starting compound for naming, as is the case for methane in organic compounds. He considered silicone compounds containing silicon-oxygen bonds to be ketone-type structures (Si=O) and named them "Silicone". This is the combination of the English word for silicon, Silicon, and the English word for ketone in organic chemistry, one, so there is also Silicone translated as "silicone".

From 1899 to 1944, he published 54 research papers on organosilicon chemistry, laying a good foundation for the further development of organosilicon compounds, and was therefore honored as a pioneer who made outstanding contributions to organosilicon chemistry. 1962, the Kipping Prize, founded by Dow Corning and administered by the American Chemical Society, is awarded to scholars who have made contributions to the organosilicon discipline in the world. The Kipping Prize was established in 1962 by Dow Corning and is administered by the American Chemical Society. Since its inception, the Kipping Prize has been awarded 33 times.

Early Silicone Products

In the 1930s, J. F. Hyde of the Corning Glass Company explored the preparation of heat-resistant fiberglass binders for electrical insulation. Based on a paper published by Kipping, he synthesized a silicone-containing resin using the Grignard reaction, which was resistant to temperatures as high as 700°F (371°C). Hyde synthesized a heat-resistant silicone resin of practical use for electrical insulation using the Grignard method in 1937, which brought some of the specific properties of silicone polymers to the forefront of people's attention. This silicone resin was useful for Corning Glass Company to prepare insulating glass cloth tape and for General Electric Company (GE) to use as electrical insulation. He opened a new page in the development of silicone compounds.

J．F．Hyde

During the second world war, there is an urgent need to be able to run at high temperatures and high speeds under the conditions of the electrical equipment used in the moisture, heat-resistant insulating materials, Hyde and General Electric Company's W.J. Patnode and other scholars and such materials in the work. They used Kipping used the Gerhardt method to synthesize silicone monomer, and then the monomer through hydrolysis, polycondensation of silicone polymers, polymers through the thickening of silicone insulating grease. For example, the silicone insulating grease used in automobile spark plugs is one of the earliest silicone products.

Since then, the Gerhardt method and heat-shrinkage method and other processes to synthesize a variety of initial silicone products, such as silicone antifoam agent, silicone water repellent, silicone insulating resin, silicone coatings, dimethylsilicone oil, dimethylsilicone rubber, as well as a variety of silane coupling agent and so on came out one after another. These silicone materials played a great role in World War II at the time, such as: silicone materials can be used to produce high heat-resistant electric motors, waterproof military boots and so on.

Direct synthesis of hydrocarbon-based chlorosilanes

Since the classical Grignard reaction uses polar reagents such as ether, which has a very low boiling point and is extremely flammable, as solvents when halogenated hydrocarbons are reacted with Grignard reagents, the reaction is sometimes initiated with bromide. Sometimes the reaction will start suddenly, instantaneous release of a large amount of heat and lead to wash material, fire or explosion, there is a certain degree of danger. So Grignard method is not the most ideal industrial production method.

E．G．Rochow

In 1940, E. G. Rochow (1909-2001), a scholar of General Electric Company, invented the method of synthesizing hydrocarbon chlorosilanes by direct reaction between chlorine and silicon at high temperature in the presence of copper catalyst. At the same time, the German scholar R. Müller also invented this direct method, so the direct method is also known as the Rochow-Müller Process, the direct synthesis of hydrocarbon-based chlorosilanes in the history of organosilicon chemistry is one of the epoch-making achievements. Later, General Electric developed the first fluidized bed for the synthesis of methylchlorosilane with historical significance, which laid the foundation for the large-scale industrial production of silicone. This made the Silicone Division of General Electric a very large producer of silicone products.