Silicon micropowder for engineering plastics

Silicon micropowder for engineering plastics

This is an important inorganic non-metallic mineral functional powder material. It is made from high-purity natural quartz through a series of specialized processes including compounding, melting, cooling, crushing, magnetic separation, grinding, and fine grading. The resulting white powder is characterized by high whiteness, excellent transparency, good dispersibility and leveling properties, low oil absorption rate, uniform particle size, as well as outstanding mechanical properties such as compressive strength, tensile strength, impact resistance, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and chemical and physical stability.

This material exhibits a pure white color with high purity and possesses the following characteristics: chemical stability, well-controlled particle size distribution, excellent temperature resistance, acid and alkali corrosion resistance, high-temperature tolerance, superior electrical insulation, poor thermal conductivity, high insulation properties, a very low linear expansion coefficient, low hardness, large specific surface area, and good electromagnetic radiation properties. It is widely used in various fields such as chemical engineering, electronics, integrated circuits, electrical appliances, plastics, coatings, high-grade paints, rubber, and national defense.

Silica micro-powder serves as an ideal reinforcing agent for polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polyethylene (PE) products, offering both high fill capacity and excellent tensile strength. When formulated into masterbatches for PVC floor tiles, it significantly enhances wear resistance. In olefin resin films, silica micro-powder is applied at 10-12% by weight, ensuring uniform powder dispersion, superior film-forming properties, and robust mechanical performance. Compared to films using PCC as filler, the infrared transmittance is reduced by over 10%, making it highly advantageous for agricultural greenhouse film applications. Additionally, it can be utilized in wire and cable sheathing and related fields.

II. Specifications Table of Silicon Micro-powder for Engineering Plastics:

3、typical data ：

Silicon micropowder can be classified by the following characteristics and customized to meet customer requirements:

IV. Application Analysis of Silicon Micro-powder in Engineering Plastics:

Silica micropowder is utilized in plastics for manufacturing products including PVC flooring, polyethylene and polypropylene films, and electrical insulation materials. PVC floor tiles filled with silica micropowder exhibit enhanced wear resistance. When quartz powder with a 325-mesh fineness is used at a filler content of 160-180 parts per thousand (ppm), the resulting flooring fully complies with the requirements of GB4085-83 standards, demonstrating excellent surface smoothness and scratch resistance.

In PVC acid-resistant pipe production, when 10%-15% of 400-mesh quartz powder is used as filler, the material demonstrates lower viscosity and better flowability compared to other fillers. This enhances processing performance, facilitating easier extrusion and molding, and significantly improves the acid resistance of the final product. Additionally, polyethylene (PE) agricultural films filled with silicon micropowder—characterized by a large specific surface area (recommended 600-1250 mesh) and high reactivity—improve the physical, chemical, and optical properties of the product. Filling with polypropylene, on the other hand, enhances the mechanical properties.

Applications in PE Films: After ultra-fine grinding, classification, purification, and surface modification, the material is filled into PE films. The infrared-blocking properties of quartz help reduce heat loss in plastic greenhouses, thereby enhancing thermal insulation. Research indicates that when 8% to 12% ultra-fine quartz powder is added to PE films, the material exhibits excellent processability. The filler disperses uniformly in the resin with good flowability, resulting in PE films with mechanical properties comparable to pure resin films, surpassing national standards.

5. Analysis of the characteristics of silicon micropowder applied to engineering plastics:

Recommended mesh sizes: 325,1250,3000,4000,8000, and other specifications.

①-Improving the surface hardness of plastics:

The plastic is of low hardness, and the surface is easy to scratch, which affects the appearance, and thus the surface effect and decoration.

The Mohs hardness of silicon powder is as high as 7.0, which is higher than other mineral fillers.

②-Increase the strength of plastic;

The plastic can improve the tensile strength of silicon powder, and the tensile strength and bending strength of the plastic can be improved within the appropriate range of filling amount, and the engineering applicability of the plastic can be improved.

③-Increase the added value of plastics;

The addition of silicon powder to PP can improve the antistatic property, printing property and heat preservation property of PP.

④- cut the cost ；

Silica powder is cheaper than resin, adding silica powder can reduce the cost of plastics and has obvious economic benefits.

⑤-Improve the heat resistance of plastics.

Silica fume exhibits high thermal stability, with a maximum temperature resistance of up to 1600°C, thereby enhancing the heat resistance of plastics such as ABS. For instance, the long-term service temperature of PP is approximately 110°C when unfilled, but it can be elevated to over 150°C after being filled with 30% silica fume.

⑥-Improve wear resistance.

Silicon powder has fine particle size, light weight and easy to process, so it has less influence on the wear of plastic processing equipment.

VI. Analysis of the Role of Silicon Micro-powder in Rubber and Plastic Materials:

Plastic engineers widely recognize that reactive silicon micropowder serves as an ideal reinforcing agent for polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, and polyethylene products, offering both high fill capacity and excellent tensile strength. When incorporated into PVC floor tiles as a masterbatch, it significantly enhances wear resistance. Furthermore, when applied to olefin resin films, the silicon micropowder ensures uniform dispersion, superior film-forming properties, and robust mechanical performance. Compared to films filled with PCC, these silicon-based films demonstrate over 10% lower infrared transmission, making them suitable for applications such as wire and cable sheathing.

(1) Application of silicon micropowder in new plastics: Particularly in translucent plastic films, the addition of ultra-fine silica significantly enhances transparency, toughness, water resistance, and energy storage/thermal insulation properties. When incorporated into plastic components, the mechanical performance indicators can be improved by 1 to 3 times.

(2) Wear-resistant rubber products, including rubber sheets, tubes, belts, and rollers, require the compound to exhibit excellent permeability and strong adhesion. Test results demonstrate that the compound filled with silica micro-powder fully demonstrates unique properties such as low consistency, good permeability, excellent dispersion, and strong adhesion. These properties facilitate the application of the compound onto canvas and enhance the adhesion strength between the film and the canvas. The mechanical properties of the products, such as tensile strength and permanent deformation, are significantly improved, particularly enhancing the wear resistance of the rubber products.

(3) The primary component of silicon micro-powder is silicon dioxide. As a plastic filler, it is widely used in materials such as polyethylene (PE), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), epoxy resin (EP), and silicone rubber. It enhances the heat and moisture resistance of products while reducing stress cracking.

(4) The quasi-spherical silicon micropowder, when used in epoxy resin insulation encapsulation materials, can significantly increase the filler content, reduce the viscosity of the mixed material system, improve processing performance, enhance the permeability of the mixture, decrease the expansion coefficient of the cured product and the shrinkage rate during curing, and minimize thermal expansion differences.

(5) Silica micro-powder with a moisture content of less than 0.1% can enhance the bonding strength, yield value, and shear dilution index of the colloid in sealant. It exhibits thickening, reinforcing, tear resistance, and anti-aging properties.