Bonding Silicone to Silicone
Bonding silicone to silicone is notoriously difficult to achieve, with silicone often being considered as non-stick. However, silicone materials are vital across industries from medical to aerospace, with desirable properties such as flexibility and temperature resistance making them ideal for seals, gaskets, and components. This means being able to bond silicone materials is crucial, so how do you bond silicone to silicone?
Why is Silicone Hard to Bond?
Primarily, silicones are low surface energy materials which repel liquids, meaning regular adhesives will not adhere to the surface. Additionally, silicone’s high elastic properties make more rigid adhesives challenging to use.
What Does Low Surface Energy Mean?
Materials with a low surface energy are generally soft with low density. Molecules on these surfaces are not attracted to other molecules, meaning liquids will bead up on the surface and not spread out, making it difficult to achieve good ‘wet out’. A good wet out is essential in achieving a strong bond. Therefore, speciality adhesives are required or the use of primers formulated specifically for LSE materials.
Where is Silicone to Silicone Bonding Required?
- Bonding silicone HCR gaskets together
- Seam sealing
- Bonding silicone coated fabric
- Medical tubing and devices
- Automotive & aerospace seals, gaskets, and components
- Flexible electronics
- Mould making
- Marine sealing
Products to Consider:
Room temperature vulcanising silicone sealants are recommended for silicone-to-silicone bonding applications.
TECHSiL RTV10533 High Performance Silicone
TECHSiL RTV10533 is a flowable, one component, ready to use silicone specifically for high strength adhesion applications. This silicone cures to a very resilient silicone rubber on exposure to atmospheric moisture at room temperature.
10533 provides excellent adhesion to silicone rubbers, has a wide temperature resistance (-60°C to +200°C). RTV10533 is an alternative to Elastosil E43 RTV silicone.
For more information contact our Technical Team.
