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Polymers
Volume 17
Issue 14
10.3390/polym17141998
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Relationship Between Filler Type, Thermomechanical Properties, and Aging of RTV Silicone Foams

by
Xavier M. Torres
1,
John R. Stockdale
1,
Adam Pacheco
1,
Shelbie A. Legett
1,
Lindsey B. Bezek
1,
Bart Benedikt
2,
Andrea Labouriau
1 and
Santosh Adhikari
1,*
1
C-CDE: Chemical Diagnostics and Engineering Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
2
W-13: Advanced Engineering Analysis, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Polymers 2025, 17(14), 1998; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17141998
Submission received: 30 May 2025 / Revised: 11 July 2025 / Accepted: 18 July 2025 / Published: 21 July 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Polymer Composites: Synthesis and Application)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Room-temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone foams are used in many industrial applications that require the material to perform over long time periods. However, mechanical properties tend to deteriorate when these foams age under a compressive load. The chemical aging is attributed to the presence of unreacted functional groups of the prepolymers, residues from acid, and catalytically active tin (II) species. Here, an optimized thermal treatment of an RTV foam that achieves completion of curing reactions and deactivation of reactive species is proposed. Foams that were thermally aged for three months under compressive load showed no signs of compression set, indicative of the effectiveness of the implemented post-curing approach. In addition, the effects of fillers (diatomaceous earth, fumed silica, and carbon nanofibers) on thermomechanical properties were investigated. Tensile strength, tear strength, and thermal conductivity increased when these fillers were added to the unfilled RTV formulation, with carbon nanofibers (CNFs) being the most effective filler. Rheological studies of RTV formulations indicated that 2.5 wt.% of CNFs is the upper limit that can be added to the RTV formulation.
Keywords: room temperature vulcanizing foams; diatomaceous earth; fumed silica; PDMS; carbon nanofibers; tin catalyst room temperature vulcanizing foams; diatomaceous earth; fumed silica; PDMS; carbon nanofibers; tin catalyst

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Torres, X.M.; Stockdale, J.R.; Pacheco, A.; Legett, S.A.; Bezek, L.B.; Benedikt, B.; Labouriau, A.; Adhikari, S. Relationship Between Filler Type, Thermomechanical Properties, and Aging of RTV Silicone Foams. Polymers 2025, 17, 1998. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17141998

AMA Style

Torres XM, Stockdale JR, Pacheco A, Legett SA, Bezek LB, Benedikt B, Labouriau A, Adhikari S. Relationship Between Filler Type, Thermomechanical Properties, and Aging of RTV Silicone Foams. Polymers. 2025; 17(14):1998. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17141998

Chicago/Turabian Style

Torres, Xavier M., John R. Stockdale, Adam Pacheco, Shelbie A. Legett, Lindsey B. Bezek, Bart Benedikt, Andrea Labouriau, and Santosh Adhikari. 2025. "Relationship Between Filler Type, Thermomechanical Properties, and Aging of RTV Silicone Foams" Polymers 17, no. 14: 1998. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17141998

APA Style

Torres, X. M., Stockdale, J. R., Pacheco, A., Legett, S. A., Bezek, L. B., Benedikt, B., Labouriau, A., & Adhikari, S. (2025). Relationship Between Filler Type, Thermomechanical Properties, and Aging of RTV Silicone Foams. Polymers, 17(14), 1998. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17141998

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