The Role of Silicones in Formulating Water-Based Coatings
Silicones represent a class of compounds that are based on the element silicon and they exist in a variety of forms that include oils, fluids, high viscosity polymers, gums, elastomers, resins and silanes. Silicones are completely synthetic and they have been commercially available for about the past 70 years. Due to their unusual surface properties and their ability to accommodate wide temperature extremes, silicones have become indispensible in the developed world as they are used in myriad applications, including coatings. Silicones’ use in coatings began during the early stages of silicone commercial development and today they are used extensively in coatings to provide improved performance such as slip & abrasion resistance, weatherability and thermal stability or to achieve a specific function. The use of silicones in water-based coatings falls into the following general categories: (1) silicone additives in which a small amount (