Silica is an important industrial raw material, and it has a wide range of applications in rubber, plastics, coatings and other fields. As a functional filler, silica has the advantages of high purity, high dispersion, high specific surface area and low density, and is widely used in tires, shoe materials, silicone rubber, rubber and plastic products, coatings, inks, paints, PVC cable materials, sealants, gas cylinder pressure packaging media and other fields.
The main component of silica is silicon dioxide, which has the chemical formula SiO2. It is an amorphous silica powder with a three-dimensional network structure in which each silicon atom is connected to four oxygen atoms by covalent bonds. The molecular formula of silica is Si4O8 and the molecular weight is 20806。
There are three main production methods of silica: gas phase method, precipitation method and gel method. The gas phase method is to use chlorosilane combustion in a hydrogen atmosphere to produce silica, which produces silica with small particle size, good dispersion and large specific surface area, but its production cost is high. The precipitation method uses sodium silicate and sulfuric acid to react to generate silicic acid, and then dehydrates to obtain silica, which has low production cost but poor product quality. The gel method uses silicate ester and inorganic acid reaction to generate gel, and then heat treatment to obtain silica, the product quality of this method is better, but the production cost is also higher.
Silica has a range of excellent physical and chemical properties, such as high dispersion, high specific surface area, low density, high chemical stability, etc. It has good dispersibility and can be evenly dispersed in the medium, improving the hardness and impact resistance of the product. At the same time, silica also has good insulation, high temperature resistance and weather resistance, and can be widely used in rubber, plastics and other polymer materials to improve the physical properties and processing properties of products.
In addition to applications in rubber, plastics, and other fields, silica can also be used to make advanced ceramics, glass fibers, coatings, and other fields. In the manufacture of advanced ceramics and glass fibers, silica can be used as one of the main raw materials to improve the hardness and corrosion resistance of products. In coatings, silica can be used as a filler to improve the hiding power and scratch resistance of coatings.
In conclusion, silica, as an important industrial raw material, has a wide range of applications in many fields. With the continuous development of science and technology, the application range of silica will continue to expand, and its performance will be further improved.