A newly published invention patent has pushed the application boundary of ethyl silicone oil from the ground to space.


On January 31, 2026, Shenzhen Debon Interface Materials officially applied for a patent for thermal conductive silicone grease and its preparation method for aerospace electronic equipment. In this patented formula, ethyl silicone oil (viscosity 50-1000 mPa · s) is compounded with phenyl silicone oil in a ratio of 3-8 parts, supplemented with modified silicone oil and nanoscale zinc oxide, aiming to provide a reliable heat dissipation solution for aerospace electronic equipment in extreme temperature difference environments in space.


This is not the first time that ethyl silicone oil has been released. In fact, with excellent characteristics such as a flash point exceeding 265 ℃ (open cup), a working temperature range of -70 ℃ to 150 ℃, low vapor pressure, and low volatility, ethyl silicone oil has long been the "hidden champion" in the aerospace industry. Its electrical insulation performance remains stable in high and low temperature environments, is inert to metals, plastics, and rubber, and is non-toxic and non corrosive - these characteristics precisely meet the stringent requirements of spacecraft for materials.


From the perspective of the industrial chain, the upstream of ethyl silicone oil relies on silicon mineral resources, and through processes such as silicon material processing and organic silicon material production, it ultimately serves diversified downstream. According to research by Beizhesi Consulting, the market size of ethyl hydrogen silicone oil in China has reached 274 million yuan in 2024, with a global market size of 1.092 billion yuan. It is expected to reach 1.865 billion yuan globally by 2030. Ethyl silicone oil, as a core category, is continuously increasing in volume with emerging demands such as liquid cooling technology, new energy heat dissipation, and 5G base station temperature control.


On the production side, domestic enterprises have mastered mature synthesis processes: using chloroethane and magnesium metal to produce Grignard reagent as a catalyst, and using ethyl orthosilicate as raw material through hydrolysis condensation, molecular rearrangement, and vacuum distillation to obtain finished products; Alternatively, it can be synthesized by direct hydrolysis and condensation of diethyldichlorosilane and triethylchlorosilane, followed by molecular rearrangement. As the only high-tech enterprise in China with a complete industry chain of fluorosilicone materials, Xinyuan Chemical (Shandong) Co., Ltd.'s business unit manager Yu Pengfei focused on sharing the preparation and performance research results of ultra-low temperature resistant ethyl silicone oil at the 2024 Organic Silicon Fine Chemicals Technology Exchange Conference, and led the completion of multiple national invention patents.


From the Antarctic ice sheet at -130 ℃ to spacecraft in vacuum environment, ethyl silicone oil is writing a new chapter in the high-end development of organic silicon materials with its irreplaceable low-temperature fluidity and chemical stability. With the outbreak of emerging tracks such as liquid cooled silicone oil and thermal conductive silicone grease, the story of this track has just begun.