Recently, the large-scale preparation technology of high-grade ethyl silicone oil, jointly completed by a domestic research team in the field of organic silicon and several key universities, has officially passed the national key new material project achievement appraisal. The overall technical level has reached international advanced level, and some core indicators have achieved global leadership. This marks that China has completely shaken off its long-standing dependence on imports in the field of special lubricants and damping materials, providing solid support for supply chain security in key areas such as aerospace and polar equipment.


The technology system that has been certified this time has broken through the three core bottlenecks that have long restricted the performance improvement of high-end ethyl silicone oil: firstly, it has achieved nanoscale precise control of the degree of substitution of ethyl side chains, and the uniformity of product molecular structure has been improved to 99.8%, fundamentally avoiding the problem of uneven distribution of low molecular components in traditional processes; Secondly, we innovatively adopt a multi-stage coupled molecular distillation purification process to control the volatile matter of the product below 0.08%, far below the international standard of 0.2% for similar products; Thirdly, a new environmentally friendly catalytic system has been developed, which reduces the emissions of three wastes in the production process by 72% compared to traditional processes, and reduces energy consumption per unit product by 45%. While improving product performance, green manufacturing upgrades have been achieved.


For a long time, high-end ethyl silicone oil technology suitable for extreme working conditions has been monopolized by a few overseas manufacturers. The demand for precision instruments in domestic aviation, lubrication systems for high-altitude equipment, temperature control for polar scientific research equipment, and other fields has long faced difficulties such as long procurement cycles, large price fluctuations, and unstable supply chains. Some special specification products even faced the risk of supply interruption, directly affecting the research and development progress of multiple high-end equipment. To solve this industry problem, the domestic research team has been continuously tackling it for nearly 8 years, completing more than 1200 rounds of laboratory formula verification, 3 full process experimental proofs, and accumulating more than 30 core patents of independent intellectual property rights. Finally, a fully independent and controllable full process production line has been built.


The ultra-low temperature resistant ethyl silicone oil products produced based on this technology can maintain a stable fluid state in a wide temperature range of -78 ℃ to 230 ℃, with key properties such as shear stability and oxidation stability superior to similar international products. At present, the product has passed full condition bench testing in multiple national aerospace laboratories and has been successfully applied in core scenarios such as onboard instrument damping fluid, special lubricating media for aircraft transmission systems, and temperature control fluid for polar scientific research equipment. In the polar scientific expedition conducted last year, the research equipment equipped with this ethyl silicone oil material operated continuously and stably for more than 180 days in an extremely cold environment of -72 ℃, without any abnormal conditions such as lagging or solidification, demonstrating environmental adaptability far beyond traditional imported materials.


Industry experts say that the implementation of this technology not only fills the technological gap of high-end ethyl silicone oil in China, but also builds a complete independent industrial chain from basic raw material synthesis to terminal application testing. At present, a high-end ethyl silicone oil exclusive production capacity of 3000 tons per year has been established in China. While meeting the demand for high-end equipment in China, the product has also passed multiple international industrial standard certifications and begun to be supplied in bulk to the global high-end manufacturing market, completely reversing the industrial pattern of China's long-term dependence on imported special ethyl silicone oil. With the steady release of subsequent production capacity, it is expected that the market application cost of high-end ethyl silicone oil in China will further decrease by 50% in the next three years, driving material upgrades in downstream high-end manufacturing fields such as aviation, wind power, and energy storage.