Dow Corning: Technical seminar at TPE 2005
Dow Corning Corporation, a leading supplier of silanes and silicone products and services, will offer a technical seminar about silane-based technology for thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) at TPE 2005 - The Eighth International Conference on Thermoplastic Elastomers in Berlin, Germany.
Valérie Smits, of Dow Corning’s Surface and Interface Solutions Center in Belgium, will present Wednesday, September 14, 2005, at 10:15 a.m. The paper, co-authored with Dow Corning’s Thierry Materne, reviews facts and data concerning organosilane technology as support for the development of new thermoplastic vulcanizates composites.
According to Smits and Materne, the use of resol resins and peroxide technology for the vulcanization of thermoplastics elastomers are two well-established technologies. “However, peroxide curing has some major drawbacks such as process stability, odor, color and toxicity issues; and resol resins technology suffers from moisture uptake and color issues,” said Smits.
Other technologies exist such as hydrosilyation crosslinking technology using silicon-based materials. Beside these well-established technologies, Smits explained, organosilane technology could be a user-friendly, tailor-made curative system for a variety of polymer matrices and performance requirements.
“Several advantages of organosilanes well known to the rubber industry are not yet exploited in TPVs,” she added. “As part of our commitment to innovation and research, Dow Corning is working with this technology to target the specific needs of thermoplastics vulcanizates. Our paper discusses several ways in which organosilane technology enables the combination of elastomer vulcanization, filler dispersion, and adhesion promotion.”
Smits, a plastic and rubber compounding senior specialist, leads the SISC’s Plastic & Rubber Application Cell where her responsibilities include the set-up and management of the Center’s plastic and rubber laboratory. Her work focuses on the evaluation and development of silane applications for the plastic and rubber market including dynamic vulcanization, crosslinking and filled composites using in-situ or pre treated fillers. Smits earned her degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Mons-FPMS (Belgium) in 1996 and held several engineering positions at Atofina for eight years before joining Dow Corning.