Properties of maxillofacial silicone elastomers reinforced with silica powder

Compounds of a silicone elastomer suitable for preparing maxillofacial prostheses, reinforced with various amounts of silica powder, have been studied for their mechanical response and wetting properties in terms of contact angle. Tensile strength and elongation at break showed an increase with increasing silica volume fraction up to 35%, whereas the Young modulus displayed small dependence on the silica content and the resistance to tear increased continuously with filler volume fraction (Vf). The wetting properties assessed via the contact angle, seemed to degrade with increasing silica Vf, but a dependence on the elastomer network density has also been recorded.