SILICONE
Silicone is an older term often confused with the element silicon. It refers to a group of polymers with a backbone that contains silicon and oxygen bonds. Silicone polymers serve as the building blocks for aesthetic fillers, flame-retardant materials, baby pacifiers, and gas-foam cutting/reducing agents. Pure silicone coatings can be used on both food-contact interior surfaces and non-food-contact exterior surfaces. Additionally, there are types of silicone-polyester hybrid coatings that are used exclusively on non-food-contact exterior surfaces.
Silicone/Polyester Hybrids
Silicone/polyester hybrids combine the characteristics of both groups, offering a balance of their properties.
- Silicone: Exhibits higher curing capacity under time/temperature combinations, is more flame-resistant and non-yellowing, with a more elastic and fluid structure.
- Polyester: Cures under lower time/temperature combinations, is less flame-resistant and non-yellowing, and has a more rigid and viscous structure.
In general, the unit price of silicone is higher than that of polyester.