Silicone Rubber—A Perspective

Abstract

Abstract Silicone rubber began as a polydimethylsiloxane elastomer vulcanized by benzoyl peroxide. Today, 33 years after its discovery, silicone rubber is a line of products of widely different compositions and vulcanized by many different systems. Our knowledge of the rubber is far better than it was but it is by no means complete. Applications are many, but in general, they are in vital areas where extreme environmental conditions will not permit the use of any other material. Service life cost is usually lower than for other rubbers, despite higher initial cost. Uses in surgery fulfill a unique role in saving lives or improving the quality of life for many. Dr. R. R. McGregor said of the field of silicones, in general, “What had been started as a search for further knowledge proved to be the groundwork for technological advances that have proved helpful to industry, and in so doing, have contributed to improving our standard of living”. What he said of silicones as a whole, certainly applies to silicone rubber, and I have been happy to have contributed to the knowledge of silicone rubber and to have been a part of these advances which, in addition, contribute to our physical wellbeing by their use in the human body. These remarks are not in any way an epitaph for silicone rubber, but rather, they are the opening words in a book of growing usefulness for silicone rubber for us all. The adventure has just begun.