PVC sheet, PVC panel, PVC wall panel, PVC cable, PVC roll, PVC square tubing, PVC angle trim, etc. Silicone molding resin, silicone shoe cover, custom silicone molds, etc. Silicone and PVC materials are widely used in building materials, industrial products, daily necessities, pipes, wires and cables, packaging films, foaming materials, sealing materials, fibers, etc. From the appearance, it is hard to tell PVC or silicone products, but they are different materials and have different characteristics.

Silicone

Silicone belongs to rubber material. Silicone is mainly composed of organic silicon and silicon atoms, and the main material is siloxane, which is insoluble. The silicone rubber products are mainly made of silicone oil, siloxane, silicone resin, and silane coupling agent. Silicone is the safest material in the rubber industry now, it is a kind of environment-friendly chemical material.

Compared to PVC thermoplastic materials, Silicone is outstanding in environmental adaptability. It can be used at high and low temperatures and under a variety of environments for a long time, but still keep good performance. The outstanding performance is as follows:

Temperature Resistance

Silicone has good temperature resistance, the conventional temperature range of -40 ~ 230 degrees within the long-term use.

Environmental suitability

Silicone is not easy to be ultraviolet and ozone environment oxidation can be used in the natural environment.

Physical inactive

The compound siloxane is one of the most inactive compounds known. They are resistant to biological aging, no rejection reaction with the animal body, and have good anticoagulant properties, which can be used in a variety of environments.

Tensile strength

Silicone products have good surface tension, in which the main silane chain in the silicon molecule is more soft and flexible, so the tensile rebound strength is strong, long-term tensile rebound, no deformation.

Insulation

Silicone products have good electrical insulation properties, dielectric loss, resistance to voltage, resistance to arc, resistance to Corona, volume resistance coefficient, and surface resistance coefficient. Silicone is a good insulating material, therefore, it is one of the more stable electrical materials.

PVC

PVC is polyvinyl chloride. PVC belongs to plastic material. PVC compounds are the polymerization of vinyl chloride monomer, an azo compound, and other chemical aids at high temperatures. PVC materials can be made by polymer synthesis into different kinds of products, such as PVC sheet, PVC panel, PVC wall panel, PVC cable, PVC roll, PVC square tubing, PVC angle trim, etc. PVC material is a mainly white powdery amorphous material, density is 1.3-1.5, material vitrification temperature is within 90 degrees, the highest temperature resistance is 170 degrees. So in high temperature, PVC will be automatically decomposed into hydrogen chloride, beyond the temperature range will automatically catalyze decomposition.

There are two methods to identify PVC products

(1) identification by combustion method

Softening or melting temperature range 75 ~ 90 °C

Burning Flame(yellow upper, on the lower, is green), and has smoke. Self-extinguishing without fire. Has a pungent acid smell. This is the simplest and quick method.

(2) solvent treatment identification

Solvents: oxolane, cyclohexanone, methyl ketone, Dimethylformamide;

Non-solvent: methanol, acetone, heptane.

Put the suspected PVC products into the above solvent, observe the dissolution of the products to determine whether it is PVC. When the solvent is heated, the dissolving effect will be more obvious.

For consumers, it is difficult to identify PVC products or silicone products. But here are some tips for your reference,

1. Touch

Silicone products have a soft and smooth feeling.

PVC touch is slightly hard and rough.

2. Color

The newly produced silica gel products are basically indistinguishable from the PVC products in color, but after long-term use, the PVC materials will appear sticky color and color yellowing, especially in the light and heat environment. Most silicone products rarely appear in such a situation.

3. Shore hardness

The shore hardness of silicone rubber can reach 30-90 degrees, while the conventional hardness of PVC is between 50-95. The hardness of silicone rubber material can be lower and softer, while the softness of PVC can not. Even though silicone in high shore hardness, it still has a good spring back strength, while PVC is relatively poor spring back strength.

4. Temperature

The processing temperature of silicone rubber is about 180 °C in the production process, and the normal temperature resistance is about-40 to 230 °C. PVC softening or melting temperature range is 75 ~ 90 degrees. In excess of temperature, both materials will have a certain amount of chemical reaction. Silica gel appears to be a white burning phenomenon. PVC will appear to soften, self-extinguishing without fire, and has a pungent acid smell.

5. Rebound strength

Rebound strength is the most important difference between these two materials. Silicone material has a good silicon molecular connecting strength, the rebound strength will be much better. While the PVC material has poor rebound.