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Coating PDMS on sand

DC David Z. Chen
HZ Hu Zheng
DW Dong Wang
RB Robert P. Behringer
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Polydimethylsiloxane-coated sand was prepared by first desiccating and heating fine sand at ~ 180 °C. Afterward, 7.5% by bulk volume hydroxyl-terminated PDMS was introduced and mixed with the sand until the sand was uniformly coated. We pre-dissolved boric acid in ethanol and introduced an ~ 0.5% by bulk volume (of boric acid) into the PDMS-coated sand, mixing the dissolved boric acid as the ethanol solvent evaporates. This concentration is not crucial—it is only important to include enough boric acid to crosslink all of the PDMS. After the PDMS cross-links and the mixture cools, we introduced ~ 2% by PDMS volume of oleic acid to act as a plasticizer for PDMS.

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Why use hydroxyl-terminated PDMS? What does the chemical process from sand to final product look like? Is it possible to do this with silicone spray?
edit 0 Answer 12 Views Feb 27, 2024