From these basic building blocks, thousands of useful silicone products are
created.
| Chlorosilane Precursor | Product of Hydrolysis | Silicone "Shorthand" | Forms, Functions |
Trimethylchlorosilane |  |  | End-blockers
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Dimethyldichlorosilane
The primary building block used in the polymerization of
polydimethylsiloxanes
(classic linear silicones) |  |  | Linear (straight chain)
Silicone fluids, elastomers, and gels |
Methyltrichlorosilane |  |  | Branched (crosslinkers)
Learn about crosslinking
reactions. |
Tetrachlorosilane |  |  | Three-dimensional resinous networks
Silicone resins |
Silicone nomenclature
shorthand
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The silicon-based materials industry uses a shorthand (abbreviated)
nomenclature - "M," "D," "T," and "Q" - to
describe complicated siloxane building blocks. The subscript numbers = DP
(degree of polymerization).
Examples:
| Me3SiOSiMe3 | hexamethyldisiloxane | MM |
|
Me3SiO(SiMe2O)nSiMe3 | trimethylsiloxy terminated polydimethylsiloxane | MDnM |
| (Me3SiO)4Si | tetrakis(trimethylsilyloxy)silane | M4Q |
| (SiMe2O)4 | octamethyltetracyclosiloxane | D4 |
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