Question

What is a silicon polymer?

Answer 1

Polymer means there is a repeating unit called monomer which is repeated numerous times to form a macromolecule and in silicon polymer, their repeating unit must contain silicon atoms.

Complete step-by-step answer: Polymer means there is a repeating unit called monomer which is repeated numerous times to form a macromolecule. Mostly the polymers are carbon-containing monomers, but there is another class of polymers called silicon polymer or polysiloxane. In these, the backbone chain is not formed by carbon atoms, it is made from silicon and oxygen atoms. Its monomer unit is called siloxane and it is represented as $(-{{R}_{2}}Si-O-Si{{R}_{2}}-)$, in which R is the alkyl group. The basic structure of silicon polymer is given below:

These polymers have many good and useful properties like they are water repellent, have heat stability, they have good resistance to chemical attack. These are used in many varieties like rubber-material, oils, grease, adhesives, medicines, cooking utensils, etc.
We can prepare a siloxane, polydimethylsiloxane by the hydrolysis of dimethyldichlorosilane, and its reaction is given below:
$nSi{{(C{{H}_{3}})}_{2}}C{{l}_{2}}+n{{H}_{2}}O\to {{[Si{{(C{{H}_{3}})}_{2}}O]}_{n}}+2nHCl$
Due to its electrical insulation property, it is used in a wide range of electrical appliances. It also has a very low toxicity level. It is also resistant to UV (ultra-violet) radiation, and ozone.
It is also used in the aerospace industry. It is an alternating dry cleaning solvent for the chlorine-containing perchloroethylene solvent.

Note: There are some silicone compounds like cyclic siloxanes which cause air and water pollution and sometimes cause negative health effects on the animals. Since it is used in medication, higher doses can cause serious health hazards.