Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026
Improved Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) Double Casting via Silicone Oil Treatment for Densely Packed Microstructure Replication
Published on: July 18, 2025
Exfoliation of clays in poly(dimethylsiloxane) rubber using an unexpected couple: a silicone surfactant and water
Céline Labruyère1, Fabien Monteverde, Michaël Alexandre
1Center of Innovation and Research in Materials and Polymers, Laboratory of Polymeric and Composite Materials, University of Mons-Hainaut, Place du Parc 20, 8-7000 Mons, Belgium.
Abstract:
Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)/montmorillonite (MMT) composites have been prepared using a newly synthesized omega-ammonium functionalized poly(dimethylsiloxane) compatibilizer coupled with a dispersion technique in water. The organoclay containing the new siloxane surfactant was characterized by TGA and XRD. For the first time, a nanoscopic dispersion of MMT nanoplatelets in the PDMS composite cured by hydrosilylation and a good compatibility between clay layers and matrix were obtained. The beneficial effect of both the surfactant and the water onto clay nanoplatelet dispersion was evaluated by different microscopy techniques and by measuring different properties such as the viscosity of the uncured PDMS/MMT nanodispersions, and the swelling rate and Young's modulus of the cured PDMS/MMT nanocomposites.
