A systematic study on enhancing curing times and thermomechanical properties of SYLGARD™ 186

Sylgard 186 is a versatile polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer that is cured via a hydrosilylation reaction. Its room temperature curing time is long, leaving much to be desired in terms of application timeframe. Curing the resin at higher temperatures overcomes this problem, but mechanical proper...

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Main Authors: John R. Stockdale, Santosh Adhikari, Xavier M. Torres, Adam Pacheco, Shelbie A. Legett, Andrea Labouriau
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Results in Materials
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590048X25000263
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author John R. Stockdale
Santosh Adhikari
Xavier M. Torres
Adam Pacheco
Shelbie A. Legett
Andrea Labouriau
author_facet John R. Stockdale
Santosh Adhikari
Xavier M. Torres
Adam Pacheco
Shelbie A. Legett
Andrea Labouriau
author_sort John R. Stockdale
collection DOAJ
description Sylgard 186 is a versatile polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer that is cured via a hydrosilylation reaction. Its room temperature curing time is long, leaving much to be desired in terms of application timeframe. Curing the resin at higher temperatures overcomes this problem, but mechanical properties of the cured elastomer tend to deteriorate. Thus, the present work evaluated chemical modifications to the standard Sylgard 186 with the goal to decrease room temperature curing time while maintaining or improving thermomechanical properties. A modified Sylgard 186 formulation that combines the base component of Sylgard 186 with the curing agent of Sylgard 184 in a 30:1 ratio is introduced. The modified Sylgard 186 elastomer displays, after 4 h of curing at 25 °C, Shore A hardness of 29.5 ± 2.8. These results point to a new, readily available, fast curing Sylgard 186 formulation that has the potential to aid in a wide range of applications including potting within microelectronics, mechanobiology, and aerospace components.
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institution OA Journals
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publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Results in Materials
spelling doaj-art-e2ee1f19564047ce897bf928af91ca6f2025-08-20T02:05:36ZengElsevierResults in Materials2590-048X2025-06-012610068110.1016/j.rinma.2025.100681A systematic study on enhancing curing times and thermomechanical properties of SYLGARD™ 186John R. Stockdale0Santosh Adhikari1Xavier M. Torres2Adam Pacheco3Shelbie A. Legett4Andrea Labouriau5Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USACorresponding author.; Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USALos Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USALos Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USALos Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USACorresponding author.andrea@lanl.gov; Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USASylgard 186 is a versatile polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer that is cured via a hydrosilylation reaction. Its room temperature curing time is long, leaving much to be desired in terms of application timeframe. Curing the resin at higher temperatures overcomes this problem, but mechanical properties of the cured elastomer tend to deteriorate. Thus, the present work evaluated chemical modifications to the standard Sylgard 186 with the goal to decrease room temperature curing time while maintaining or improving thermomechanical properties. A modified Sylgard 186 formulation that combines the base component of Sylgard 186 with the curing agent of Sylgard 184 in a 30:1 ratio is introduced. The modified Sylgard 186 elastomer displays, after 4 h of curing at 25 °C, Shore A hardness of 29.5 ± 2.8. These results point to a new, readily available, fast curing Sylgard 186 formulation that has the potential to aid in a wide range of applications including potting within microelectronics, mechanobiology, and aerospace components.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590048X25000263Sylgard 186PDMSShore A hardnessViscosityGel-point
spellingShingle John R. Stockdale
Santosh Adhikari
Xavier M. Torres
Adam Pacheco
Shelbie A. Legett
Andrea Labouriau
A systematic study on enhancing curing times and thermomechanical properties of SYLGARD™ 186
Results in Materials
Sylgard 186
PDMS
Shore A hardness
Viscosity
Gel-point
title A systematic study on enhancing curing times and thermomechanical properties of SYLGARD™ 186
title_full A systematic study on enhancing curing times and thermomechanical properties of SYLGARD™ 186
title_fullStr A systematic study on enhancing curing times and thermomechanical properties of SYLGARD™ 186
title_full_unstemmed A systematic study on enhancing curing times and thermomechanical properties of SYLGARD™ 186
title_short A systematic study on enhancing curing times and thermomechanical properties of SYLGARD™ 186
title_sort systematic study on enhancing curing times and thermomechanical properties of sylgard™ 186
topic Sylgard 186
PDMS
Shore A hardness
Viscosity
Gel-point
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590048X25000263
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