FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a binder composition which is capable of providing thermal, acoustic and barrier insulation, in particular in applications such as marine, coating, building and construction and also automotive appli cations .

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Thermal and/or acoustic insulation is desirable in many tech nical applications.

It is known to prepare thermally insulating paints including inorganic particles such as hollow glass spheres or hydropho bic aerogels which have been treated with waterborne acrylic latexes as binder. The thermal insulation obtained with such materials is limited to a temperature range of up to about 120 °C. Further, compositions are known which include a hydro- phobic aerogel treated with film forming binder emulsions based on silicone compounds, which compositions can be used in thermal paint applications, where higher thermal stability of up to 250°C is required. Insulation provided by layers of such compositions mainly allows for safe touch or energy savings.

Such known hydrophobic aerogel-based compositions are prepared by adding the hydrophobic aerogel to the emulsion binder mate rial. Thereafter, the compositions are applied onto a sub strate. However, when a hydrophobic aerogel is treated with a silicone film forming binder material, there are observed a composition viscosity increase and formation of cracks in the resulting dried film. Furthermore, when a hydrophobic aerogel is treated with a silicone-based binder emulsion, the latter has to be added just before application of the paint. Accord ingly, the two components have to be stored separately. WO 2016/010253 A1 describes an agricultural film with improved heat-retaining and thermal insulation properties, wherein an ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) resin, as a first component, is mixed with a surface-modified hydrophilic aerogel or a silylated aerogel, as a second component, and a polymer (EVA- g-MAH) , as a third component, in which maleic anhydride is grafted to an EVA resin, and one or more components, as a fourth component, selected from a polyethylene wax and a sili cone-modified polyethylene wax.

KR 2010/0033396 describes an aerogel coating composition. The hydrophobic surface of an aerogel is surface treated by way of complexing with a hydrophilic material. The thus treated com posite is applied as a coating agent for insulation and sound proof .

WO 2017/069315 A1 describes a method for preparing a hydro philic aerogel which may comprise the steps of preparing a hy drophobic aerogel and sintering the hydrophobic aerogel to prepare a hydrophilic aerogel.

KR 2010/0002234 describes a hydrophilic aerogel complex powder composition which contains 10-35 wt . % of aerogel selected from silica aerogel, carbon aerogel, alumina aerogel, and titanium aerogel, 20-65 wt . % of cement selected from micro cement, alu mina cement, and blast furnace slag cement.

WO 2007/021493 A2 describes a coated composite comprising an aerogel material and a layer of a composition comprising an elastomeric or elastomer-forming polyorganosiloxane and a crosslinker for adding strength and increasing the ability to use in rugged environments. US 2004/0077738 A1 describes an aerogel-hollow particle binder composition comprising an aqueous binder, hydrophobic aerogel particles and hollow, non-porous particles.

EP 1 515 796 B1 describes an aerogel-hollow particle binder composition comprising an aqueous binder, hydrophobic aerogel particles and hollow, non-porous particles.

EP 2 663 395 B1 describes a composite consisting of a hydro- phobic and eosin functionalized silica aerogel core encapsu lated by an outer PEG hydrogel layer.

US 2 893 962 A describes a flexible continuous film or sheet comprising compounded synthetic material which includes silica aerogel particles the entire fibular structure of which is hy drophobic, which are bonded together with a latex with rubber like properties.

US 7 144 522 B2 describes a curable coating composition for forming a thermal insulating layer. The composition comprises a highly porous particulate aerogel material and a film forming resin system comprising a film-forming polymer, such as an acrylic polymer, containing a stabilizer.

US 2004/0142168 A1 describes fibers and fabrics produced from the fibers which are made water-repellant, fire-retarded and/or thermally insulating by filling void spaces in the fi bers and/or fabrics with a powdered material 1 to 500 nm in size which material among others may be derived from aerogel or aerogel-like material such as hydrophobic silica aerogel.

US 2 870 108 A describes silica aerogels which are hydro philic, partially hydrophobic but non-organophilic, partially hydrophobic and organophilic or completely hydrophobic and organophilic . The silica aerogels can be used for a variety of applications, e.g. as flattening agents in lacquers, as thick ening agents for oils or as reinforcing filler for silicone gums. When used as reinforcing filler for silicone gums supe rior properties are obtained when the silica material is ren dered at least partially hydrophobic. Accordingly, preferred silica materials are those which are partially to completely hydrophobic .

There is the need to provide new materials for improving ther mal insulation. In particular, there is need for such new ma terials which can provide to articles a resistance to higher temperatures than those possible before and preferably also improved sound insulation and barrier insulation.

THE INVENTION

This above-mentioned object is solved by a composition of the present invention as defined in claim 1 which composition com prises a binder comprising one or more siloxane polymers, sil icone resins, silicone-based elastomers, and mixtures thereof, wherein said binder may further comprise one or more cross linker components such as a silane or a siloxane containing silicon-bonded hydrolysable groups, i.e., the binder may be a composition comprising the aforementioned components in combi nation; and

a hydrophilic powder and/or gel selected from one or more amorphous, porous hydrophilic silica (s), one or more hydro philic silica aerogel (s) and mixtures thereof, said amorphous, porous hydrophilic silica and/or said hydrophilic silica aero gel having a BET surface area from 100 m ² /g to 1500 m ² /g or greater, and a thermal conductivity from 0.004 to 0.05 W/mK at 20°C and atmospheric pressure.

Preferred embodiments are disclosed in the dependent claims. According to one aspect of the present invention, embodiments comprising essential and/or non-essential components of the compositions of the present invention consist of those essen tial and, optionally, non-essential components.

The present invention also provides a composite comprising such a composition, a method of preparing same comprising treating the hydrophilic powder and/or gel with a silicon com pound as defined above, for example by introducing the hydro philic powder and/or gel into the silicon containing compound, and the use of such a composition as thermally or acoustically insulating material, paints, coatings, foamed articles, formed articles, injected articles, gaskets, sealants, adhesives, ma rine and piping. A composition of the present invention pro vides long-term stability prior to use, prevents viscosity drift and cracks at the surface of dried film layers subse quent to coating on substrates, even for high thickness coat ings and products containing same. Furthermore, a one compo nent approach is now possible in some embodiments, i.e., there is no longer a need for combining the components of the compo sition just before its use for forming, e.g., a paint or coat ing material, and its application onto the desired substrate. Furthermore, the composition of the invention allows for use at higher temperatures, because a hydrophilic powder and/or gel as described above is stable to temperatures up to 900°C, contrary to a hydrophobic aerogel, which has an upper tempera ture limit of about 300 °C (at which temperature degradation thereof occurs) .

Hydrophilic powder and/or gel component

The amorphous porous hydrophilic silica component of the pre sent invention is a material which may be referred to as an aerogel-like material in that it is characterized by low ther mal conductivity, i.e., a thermal conductivity in the range of from 0.001 to 0.15 W/mK, such as 0.004 or 0.01 to 0.10 or 0.05 W/mK, preferably 0.01 to 0.05, or 0.01 to 0.03 W/mK, deter mined at 20°C and atmospheric pressure (P _atm ) ·

The amorphous porous hydrophilic silica material has a porous structure and is based on an amorphous hydrophilic silicon di oxide, i.e., more than 90% (by weight) of the material is amorphous .

By "hydrophilic" it is meant that the material is readily dis persible in water (at ambient conditions such as 20°C and P _atm ) · Accordingly, the material forms a stable dispersion with water unlike hydrophobic silicon dioxide materials of this type which when dispersed in water separate into a layer of material on the water surface. The hydrophilic character is due to the presence of hydrophilic groups on the surface in cluding the inner pore surface of the material while a hydro- phobic material is characterized by the presence of hydropho bic groups such as Si-Cth groups. This aspect is well-known in the art .

For example, the hydrophilic material according to the inven tion forms a stable dispersion with water which is character ized in that after mixing 1, 2, 5 or 8 g of material, such as Quartzene ^® Zl, with 60g of distilled water in a plastic jar for 1 min at 20 °C using a SpeedMixer™ DAC 150.1FV mixer operated at 2,750 rpm and allowing the resulting mixture to stand for 60 min no visible phase separation or formation of a separate layer of material on the water surface takes place.

An example of a hydrophilic silica material according to the present invention is a silicia material like Quartzene ^® Zl used in the inventive examples of the present application. Thus, the hydrophilic character of a silica material can also be il lustrated/determined by comparing it to the exemplified mate- rial, e.g., with regard to its dispersibility in water under the conditions indicated above.

The amorphous porous hydrophilic silica material is stable up to high temperatures, i.e., up to temperatures of about 900 °C at P _atm · It is characterized by a surface area (BET) in the range of from about 200 to 1,500 m ² /g, such as 200 to 1,000 or 800 m ² /g, in particular 200 to 500 or 800 m ² /g. Furthermore, it may be characterized by a pore size distribution in the range of from 0.1 to 100 nm, such as 0.5 or 1 to 80 or 90 nm, in particular 1 to 50 nm.

The properties of the above material are comparable to those of silica aerogels in that both materials have skeletal struc tures composed of porous silica, very low densities and very low thermal conductivities. A significant physical difference is that the above material is produced as a powder and not as a gel from a sol gel process. This is associated with the ad vantage of avoiding the more expensive conditions used for the preparation of traditional aerogels produced by supercritical drying or resin-reinforcement/calcination processes at sub- critical conditions.

Methods for preparing the above materials are disclosed, for example, in "Novel hydrophilic and hydrophobic amorphous sili ca: Characterization and adsorption of aqueous phase organic compounds" by A. L. Tasca, F. Ghajeri and A. J. Fletcher, Ad sorption Science & Technology, 2017, 1 - 16, section entitled "Experimental - Adsorbents", the disclosure of which is fully incorporated herein by reference.

The term "aerogel" is used to describe a synthetic, highly po rous, ultralight material derived from a gel, the liquid com ponents of which have been replaced with a gas (air) . In other words, an aerogel is a gel with a gas (air) as dispersion me- dium. Historically the most common method of preparation was by drying a wet sol-gel at temperatures above the critical temperature and at a pressure above the critical pressure. This kind of drying drives off the liquid contained in the gel, e.g., water, and results in a porous structure without damaging the solid matrix structure of the gel. Up to 99.98 % of the volume of aerogels may consist of pores. Thus, e.g., up to 99.98 vol.%, such as 90 to 98.5 vol.% or about 97 vol.%, of an aerogel may be air. Aerogels are micro- or nanoporous open cell solids, rigid and dry materials. Typically they comprise a porous solid network, and due to such a structure they are ultralight. The resulting aerogel in addition to low density has thermally insulating properties, i.e., low thermal conduc tivity. Other methods of manufacture are now used to produce similar products.

An aerogel may be based on inorganic or organic materials, e.g., silica, magnesia, titania, zirconia, alumina, chromia, tin dioxide, lithium dioxide, ceria and vanadium pentoxide, and mixtures of any two or more thereof, and organic carbon containing polymers (carbon aerogels) .

The aerogels of the present invention are hydrophilic and preferably are hydrophilic silica aerogels.

Such hydrophilic silica aerogels are typically prepared by precipitating silica from alkali metal silicate solutions, rinsing the precipitated silica, collecting the rinsed silica, and drying same using super-critical drying conditions or sub- supercritical drying conditions, or drying same as mentioned before after exchange of the contained water with CCy or a suitable organic solvent, e.g. ethanol.

Alternatively, hydrophilic silica aerogels may be prepared un der sub-critical conditions, as disclosed, e.g., in US 6, 365, 638, in particular at column 3, lines 20 to 62 and in Examples 1 and 2 at column 4, lines 1 to 63, in particular Ex ample 1. These disclosures are incorporated herein by refer ence .

The hydrophilic powder and/or gel suitable for use in the pre sent invention usually comprises particles having an average particle size in the range of 3 nm to 500 ym, preferably 1 to 100 ym, more preferred 1 to 50 ym, still more preferred 1 to 40 ym, as measured by means of laser light scattering (e.g., according to ASTM D4464-15) and/or agglomerates thereof.

The hydrophilic powder and/or gel as described above typically comprise aggregates and agglomerates of precipitated porous primary silica particles.

The size of the aggregates/agglomerates may range from 1 ym to 3000 ym, as determined, for example, by means of laser light scattering (ASTM D4464-15) . The particle size of the primary silica particles forming the aggregates/agglomerates may range from 1 nm to 500 nm, preferably 1 or 3 to 50 nm, as deter mined, for example, by means of light scattering (ASTM D4464- 15) .

According to a preferred aspect, the amorphous, porous hydro philic silica component of the present invention has a parti cle size distribution of from about 1 to 40 ym, with d(10) of about 2 ym, d(50) of about 4 to 6 ym and d(90) of about 10 to 14 ym. Preferably, it has a pore size distribution of about 1 to 50 ym. Additionally, preferably, it has a porosity of about 95 to 97%, said parameters determined by using the methods disclosed herein. Preferably, the characteristics are present in combination. The amorphous, porous hydrophilic silica and silica aerogels described above typically have densities of from 0.02 to 0.2 g/cm ³ , and/or a BET surface area typically of from 100 g/m ² to 1500 m ² /g or greater, preferably in the range of from 100 or 200 to 1000 m ² /g, more preferably from 200 to 800 m ² /g, and/or a thermal conductivity of from 0.001 to 0.15 W/mK at about 20 °C and atmospheric pressure, such as 0.005 or 0.01 to 0.05 or 0.1 W/mK.

Methods for determining BET surface are well known in the art, such as method ISO 9277.

The pore size of the powder and/or gels can be determined by gas adsorption (typically nitrogen) . These methods are well- known in the art. Typically, pore size is in the micrometer or nanometer range, preferably in the nanometer range. Suitable pore size distributions are 0.1 to 100 nm, alternatively, 1 to 75 nm, alternatively 1 to 50 nm. Typically these values can be determined by using ASTM D4222 - 03 (2015) el or ASTM D4641-12.

As disclosed hereinabove, the hydrophilic powder or gel compo nent of the present invention is highly porous. Thus, typical ly, the porosity (intra-/inter-particle porosity) is higher than 90%.

The solid portion of the amorphous, porous hydrophilic silica described above usually consists of more than 90% amorphous hydrophilic silicon dioxide.

They typically form a stable phase when dispersed in a liquid dispersion medium such as water, although they are not water- soluble in the strict sense of the word.

To the contrary, the solid portion of hydrophobic silica-based aerogels usually consists of more than 90% of hydrophobized amorphous silicon dioxide. Hydrophobic aerogels are neither water-soluble nor water-dispersible. They separate to form a layer on the water surface.

Binder based on siloxane polymers, silicone resins and/or sil- icone-based elastomers

The hydrophilic powder and/or gels used in the present inven tion are treated/combined with a binder comprising one or more siloxane polymers, silicone resins, silicone-based elastomers, and mixtures thereof. Said binder may further comprise one or more cross-linker components such as a silane or a siloxane containing silicon-bonded hydrolysable groups. Thus, the bind er may be a composition containing the aforementioned compo nents in combination and, optionally, further components as disclosed hereinbelow.

The siloxane polymers may comprise straight chain and/or branched organopolysiloxanes comprising multiple groups of the formula ( 1 )

R' _e Si04-e _/2 (1) wherein each R' may be the same or different and denotes a hy drocarbon group having from 1 to 18 carbon atoms, a substitut ed hydrocarbon group having from 1 to 18 carbon atoms or a hydrocarbonoxy group having up to 18 carbon atoms and e has, on average, a value of from 1 to 3, preferably 1.8 to 2.2.

For the purpose of this application "substituted" means one or more hydrogen atoms in a hydrocarbon group has been replaced with another substituent. Examples of such substituents in clude, but are not limited to, halogen atoms such as chlorine, fluorine, bromine, and iodine; halogen atom containing groups such as chloromethyl , perfluorobutyl , trifluoroethyl , and nonafluorohexyl ; oxygen atoms; oxygen atom containing groups such as (meth) acrylic and carboxyl; nitrogen atoms; nitrogen atom containing groups such as amino-functional groups, amido- functional groups, and cyano-functional groups; sulphur atoms; and sulphur atom containing groups such as mercapto groups .

Particularly preferred examples of groups R' include methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, vinyl, cyclohexyl, phenyl, tolyl group, a propyl group substituted with chlorine or fluorine such as 3 , 3 , 3-trifluoropropyl , chlorophenyl , beta- (perfluoro- butyl) ethyl or chlorocyclohexyl group. Preferably, at least some and more preferably substantially all of the groups R' are methyl. Some R' groups may be phenyl groups or fluoro groups. In one alternative, the polydiorganosiloxanes are largely polydialkylsiloxanes and/or polydialkylalkylphenyl- siloxanes having at least two reactive groups per molecule. The reactive groups being carbinol groups (C-OH) , silanol groups (Si-OH) , silicon-hydrolysable groups, e.g. alkoxy groups (Si-OR) , alkenyl groups (Si-alkenyl, e.g. vinyl) and/or silicon bonded hydrogen groups. Organopolysiloxane polymers as defined herein may also be understood to include siloxane and/or silane modified organic polymers, such as those re ferred to as "silicone polyesters" "silicone acrylates," sili cone polyethers" and "silicone epoxys".

Silicone resins according to the present disclosure generally may be depicted using the following general formula of the following groups (R ¹ R ² R ³ SiOi _/2 ) _a (R ⁴ R ⁵ Si0 _2/2 ) b (R ⁶ Si0 _3/2 ) _c (Si0 _4/2 ) _d - (often referred to as M, D, T, or Q units respectively) with, a+b+c+d=l, (when a, b, c and d are mole fractions) with the resin having a weight-average molecular weight between about 50 to 1,000,000, alternatively 5000 to 500,000 on a standard polystyrene basis by gel permeation chromatography. The resins may be reactive or non-reactive, depending on the composition into which they will be included. Hence, each R ¹ -R ⁶ is independently selected from a monovalent hydrocarbon groups, a carbinol group, an alkoxy group (preferably methoxy or ethoxy) or an amino group. Suitable exemplary monovalent hydrocarbon groups include, but are not limited to, alkyl groups such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, pentyl, octyl, undecyl, and octadecyl; alkenyl groups such as vinyl, allyl and hexenyl, cycloalkyl groups such as cyclopentyl and cyclohexyl; and aryl groups such as phenyl, tolyl, xylyl, benzyl, and 2- phenylethyl, and any combination thereof.

The reactive groups in this component may be located at termi nal, pendant (non-terminal ) , or both terminal and pendant po sitions. An example of a suitable resin is an MQ resin which comprises substantially only M units (R ¹ R ² R ³ SiOi _/ 2) and Q units (S1O4 _/ 2) · They may contain minor amounts of D units (R ¹² R ⁵ Si0 _{2/2 )} and/or T units (R ⁶ Si03 _/ 2) _.

The silicone based elastomer may include a suitable silicone elastomeric product which is reaction product of a siloxane polymer having at least two -OH groups per molecule, or poly mer mixture having at least two -OH groups per molecule, a cross-linker and optionally a condensation cure catalyst. In a preferred alternative silicone based elastomer is a reaction product of a siloxane polymer having at least two -OH groups per molecule, or polymer mixture having at least two -OH groups per molecule, having a viscosity of between 5,000 to 500,000 mPa.s at 25°C, and at least one self catalyzing crosslinker reactive with the polymer.

The siloxane polymers, silicone resins, silicone-based elasto mers, and mixtures thereof, optionally including silane or siloxane-based crosslinkers, may be used in combination with other co-binders and/or hardeners. When organic (co-)binders and/or hardeners are used such combinations are also referred to as hybrid binder systems.

The terms "binder", "co-binder" and/or "hardener" are used to refer to chemicals and/or chemical compositions that will - by chemical reaction and physical modification - generate a net work leading to film formation, by itself (binder) , or with other similar binder (s) (co-binder) and/or with other non similar binder (s) (hardener).

Binders suitable for use in the compositions of the present invention may contain a dissolving/dispersing/emulsifying liq uid (also referred to as being solvent-containing) or are free of a dissolving/dispersing/emulsifying liquid (also referred to as being solventless) .

An emulsion binder may comprise a homogeneous siloxane poly mer, and/or silicone resin based liquid phase in water or the like and optionally a surfactant. Typically for an "oil in wa ter" emulsion the homogeneous siloxane polymer, and/or sili cone resin based liquid phase forms the disperse phase and the water or the like forms the continuous phase of the emulsion.

A dispersion binder comprises an inhomogeneous liquid phase in water or organic solvent or a non-reactive silicone based flu id; The inhomogeneous liquid phase may contain one or more siloxane polymers, and/or silicone resin based in addition to the silicone based fluid (when present) , and optionally a sur factant .

A solution binder contains siloxane polymers, silicone resins based compositions dissolved in water, a compatible organic solvent or a non-reactive silicone based fluid. Solution bind ers as hereinbefore described may contain one or more siloxane polymer and/or silicone resin based compositions in addition to the silicone based fluid (when present) . In cases where a compatible organic solvent is utilised said solvent may be an aromatic or non-aromatic solvent, in particular xylene, methoxy propyl acetate ( PMA) , dibasic esters (DBE) such as es ters of adipic acid, glutaric acid, and succinic acid, or al cohols such as ethanol. The silicone based fluid may for exam ple be a trimethylsilyl terminated polydimethylsiloxanes hav ing a viscosity at 25°C of from 100 to 50,000mPa.s.

A solventless binder contains a homogeneous liquid containing one or more silicon containing compounds.

A solid binder contains a homogeneous solid containing one or more silicon containing materials. It can be in powder, pellet or block form.

When the siloxane polymer comprises two or more silanol groups and/or Si-hydrolysable reactive groups the binder concerned is condensation curable and will additionally include a cross- linking compound, a condensation cure catalyst and optionally reinforcing filler or non-reinforcing filler and/or a silicone resin. The fillers exclude hydrophilic silica powder and/or aerogels as hereinbefore described.

When the siloxane polymer has Si-alkenyl or Si-H reactive groups the binder concerned is addition curable and will in clude a cross-linking compound, an addition cure catalyst and optionally cure inhibitor, reinforcing filler or non reinforcing filler and/or a silicone resin. The fillers ex clude hydrophilic silica powder and/or aerogels as hereinbe fore described.

When the binder contains a silicone-based elastomer the binder composition may be a silicone water based elastomer (SWBE) emulsion . In one embodiment the hydrophilic powder and/or gels are in troduced into an emulsion type binder, which may for example be based on addition cure compositions as described above or emulsions of silicone-water-based elastomer (SWBE) . Such emul sion-type binders preferably are composed of surfactant, bind er and water.

Si-carbinol binders are based on silicone and/or siloxane com pounds and have -C-OH (end-) groups.

Hydrosilylation siloxane binders are composed of addition cure compositions as described above. They may be cured by heat UV light/electron beam (EB) depending on the application in which they are used.

Hybrid compositions will include silicon containing materials e.g. as described herein but may also contain suitable co binders or hardeners comprise inorganic or organic binders, preferably selected from amino hardeners such as 1,6 hexamethylenediamine, carboxylic acids e.g. salicylic acid, isocyanates e.g. toluene diisocyanate, specifically organic amines, organic epoxy resins bisphenol A-epichlorohydrin epoxy resin, organic carboxylic acids, organic acetals, organic an hydrides Benzene-1 , 2 , 4-tricarboxylic anhydride, organic alde hydes, polyolefins polyethylene or polypropylene, thermoset and thermoplastic binders.

The composition of the present invention comprises 1.0 to 80.0% by weight of the hydrophilic powder and/or gel and 20.0 to 99.0% by weight of the binder, preferably 1.0 to 20.0% by weight of the hydrophilic powder and/or gel and 80.0 to 99.0% by weight of the binder, more preferred 5.0 to 10.0% by weight of the hydrophilic powder and/or gel and 90.0 to 95.0% by weight of the binder. In case of solution, dispersion or emulsion type binders, the composition contains from 15.0 to 90.0% by weight of dissolv ing/dispersing/emulsifying liquid, based on the total weight of the binder, preferably 30.0 to 60.0% by weight.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is directed to a composition comprising hydro philic powder and/or gel treated with a silicon com pound/composition based binder, and its use for forming an insulative layer.

When present hydrophilic aerogels suitable for use in the pre sent invention may be a silica aerogel, magnesia aerogel, ti- tania aerogel, zirconia aerogel, alumina aerogel, chromia aer ogel, tin dioxide aerogel, lithium dioxide, ceria and vanadium pentoxide, a mixture any two or more thereof, or a carbon aer ogel, preferably it is a silica aerogel.

The hydrophilic powder and/or gels of the present invention as defined in claim 1 are preferably amorphous, porous hydro philic silicas and/or hydrophilic silica aerogels as described above .

Typically said amorphous, porous hydrophilic silicas and/or hydrophilic silica aerogels are in powder form. As mentioned above, the particle size is in the range of 1 or 3 nm to 500 ym.

Condensation Curable Binder

A Condensation Curable Binder may comprise (ai) a siloxane polymer having at least two terminal hydroxyl or hydrolysable groups and a viscosity of from 10 to 200,000, alternatively 2000 to 150000mPa.s at 25°C, as can be determined by means of a rotational viscosimeter such as a Brookfield viscosimeter or by using a Glass Capillary Viscosimeter based on ASTM D-445, IP 71. The siloxane polymer (ai) may be described by the fol lowing molecular Formula (2)

X _3-C ⁷ _C S1 -0- (R ⁸ _y SiO _(4-y)/2) z -Si—R ⁷ _C X _{3-C (} 2) where

• c is 0, 1, 2 or 3,

• b is 0 or 1,

• z is an integer from 300 to 5000 inclusive,

• y is 0, 1 or 2 preferably 2.

At least 97% of the R ¹ _y SiO _{(4-y) /2} are characterized with y=2.

• X is a hydroxyl group or any hydrolyzable group,

Each R ⁷ is individually selected from aliphatic organic groups selected from alkyl, aminoalkyl, polyaminoalkyl , epoxyalkyl or alkenyl alternatively alkyl, aminoalkyl, polyaminoalkyl, epoxyalkyl groups having, in each case, from 1 to 10 carbon atoms per group or alkenyl groups having in each case from 2 to 10 carbon atoms per group or is an aromatic aryl group, al ternatively an aromatic aryl group having from 6 to 20 carbon atoms and Most preferred are the methyl, ethyl, octyl, vinyl, allyl and phenyl groups.

Each R ⁸ is individually selected from the group consisting of X, alkyl groups, alternatively alkyl groups having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms, alkenyl groups alternatively alkenyl groups having from 2 to 10 carbon atoms and aromatic groups, alterna tively aromatic groups having from 6 to 20 carbon atoms. Most preferred are methyl, ethyl, octyl, trifluoropropyl , vinyl and phenyl groups. It is possible that some R ⁸ groups may be siloxane branches off the polymer backbone which may have ter minal groups as hereinbefore described. Most preferred R ⁸ is methyl.

Each X group of siloxane polymer (ai) may be the same or dif ferent and can be a hydroxyl group or a condensable or hydrolyzable group. The term "hydrolyzable group" means any group attached to the silicon which is hydrolyzed by water at room temperature. The most preferred X groups are hydroxyl groups or alkoxy groups. Illustrative alkoxy groups are methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy, isopropoxy, butoxy, isobutoxy, pentoxy, hexoxy octadecyloxy and 2-ethylhexoxy; dialkoxy radi cals, such as methoxymethoxy or ethoxymethoxy and alkoxyaryloxy, such as ethoxyphenoxy . The most preferred alkoxy groups are methoxy or ethoxy.

Siloxane polymer (ai) can be a single siloxane represented by Formula (2) or it can be mixtures of siloxanes represented by the aforesaid formula. The term "siloxane polymer mixture" in respect to component (ai) is meant to include any individual siloxane polymer (ai) or mixtures of siloxane polymers (ai) .

Cross -Linker (bi )

The crosslinker (bi) in a condensation curable binder may be one or more silanes or siloxanes which contain silicon bonded hydrolysable groups such as acyloxy groups (for example, acetoxy, octanoyloxy, and benzoyloxy groups); ketoximino groups (for example dimethyl ketoximo, and isobutyl- ketoximino) ; alkoxy groups (for example methoxy, ethoxy, iso butoxy and propoxy) and alkenyloxy groups (for example isopropenyloxy and l-ethyl-2-methylvinyloxy) .

The molecular structure of siloxane based cross-linkers (bi) , when present, can be straight chained, branched, or cyclic. When present, the crosslinker (bi) preferably has at least three or four silicon-bonded condensable (preferably hydroxyl and/or hydrolysable) groups per molecule which are reactive with the condensable groups of siloxane polymer (ai) in the base component. When crosslinker (bi) of the catalyst package is a silane and when the silane has three silicon-bonded hy drolysable groups per molecule, the fourth group is suitably a non-hydrolysable silicon-bonded organic group. These silicon- bonded organic groups are suitably hydrocarbyl groups which are optionally substituted by halogen such as fluorine and chlorine. Examples of such fourth groups include alkyl groups (for example methyl, ethyl, propyl, and butyl) ; cycloalkyl groups (for example cyclopentyl and cyclohexyl) ; alkenyl groups (for example vinyl and allyl) ; aryl groups (for example phenyl, and tolyl) ; aralkyl groups (for example 2-phenylethyl) and groups obtained by replacing all or part of the hydrogen in the preceding organic groups with halogen. Preferably how ever, the fourth silicon-bonded organic groups is methyl.

Silanes and siloxanes which can be used as crosslinkers in clude bis (trimethoxysilyl) hexane, 1,2-bis (triethoxy- silyl) ethane, alkyltrialkoxysilanes such as methyltrimethoxy- silane (MTM) and methyltriethoxysilane, alkenyltrialkoxy silanes such as vinyltrimethoxysilane and vinyltriethoxy- silane, isobutyltrimethoxysilane (iBTM) . Other suitable silanes include ethyltrimethoxysilane, vinyltriethoxysilane, phenyltrimethoxysilane, alkoxytrioximosilane, alkenyltrioximo- silane, 3, 3, 3-trifluoropropyltrimethoxysilane, methyltriace- toxysilane, vinyltriacetoxysilane, ethyl triacetoxysilane, di- butoxy diacetoxysilane, phenyl-tripropionoxysilane, methyltris (methylethylketoximo) silane, vinyl-tris-methylethyl- ketoximo) silane, methyltris (methylethylketoximino) silane, methyltris ( isopropenoxy) silane, vinyltris ( isopropenoxy) silane, ethylpolysilicate, n-propylorthosilicate, ethylorthosilicate, dimethyltetraacetoxydisiloxane . The cross-linker used may also comprise any combination of two or more of the above.

Catalyst ( ci )

A third ingredient is a suitable condensation catalyst for catalysing the cure reaction. These are typically tin based catalysts or titanate/zirconate catalysts which are chosen dependent on other ingredients in the composition. Examples of tin catalysts include tin triflates, organic tin metal catalysts such as triethyltin tartrate, tin octoate, tin oleate, tin naphthate, butyltintri-2-ethylhexoate, tinbutyrate, carbomethoxyphenyl tin trisuberate, isobutyltintriceroate, and diorganotin salts especially diorganotin dicarboxylate compounds such as dibutyltin dilaurate, dimethyltin dibutyrate, dibutyltin dimethoxide, dibutyltin diacetate, dimethyltin bisneodecanoate, dibutyltin dibenzoate, stannous octoate, dimethyltin dineodecanoate (DMTDN) and dibutyltin dioctoate.

Titanate and/or zirconate based catalysts may comprise a com- pound accord ng to the general formula T [OR ] ₄ where each R may be the same or different and represents a monovalent, pri mary, secondary or tertiary aliphatic hydrocarbon group which may be linear or branched containing from 1 to 10 carbon at oms. Optionally the titanate may contain partially unsaturated groups. However, preferred examples of R rnclude but are not restricted to methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, ter tiary butyl and a branched secondary alkyl group such as 2,4- drmethyl-3-pentyl . Preferably, when each R rs the same, rs an isopropyl, branched secondary alkyl group or a tertiary al kyl group, in particular, tertiary butyl. Alternatively, the titanate or zirconate may be chelated. The chelation may be with any suitable chelating agent such as an alkyl acetylacetonate such as methyl or ethylacetylacetonate .

The Condensation Curable Binder may also include one or more finely divided, reinforcing fillers and/or non-reinforcing fillers (di) . For the avoidance of doubt fillers (di) do not include hydrophilic powder and/or gels as hereinbefore de scribed. Reinforcing fillers of (di) may include calcium car bonate, high surface area fumed silica and/or precipitated silica including, for example, rice hull ash. The condensation Curable Binder may also comprise one or more non-reinforcing filler (di) such as crushed quartz, diatomaceous earths, bari um sulphate, iron oxide, titanium dioxide and carbon black, talc, wollastonite . Other fillers which might be used alone or in addition to the above include aluminite, calcium sulphate (anhydrite) , gypsum, calcium sulphate, magnesium carbonate, clays such as kaolin, aluminium trihydroxide, magnesium hy droxide (brucite) , graphite, copper carbonate, e.g. malachite, nickel carbonate, e.g. zarachite, barium carbonate, e.g. witherite and/or strontium carbonate e.g. strontianite .

In addition, the reinforcing filler and/or non-reinforcing filler (di) may be surface treated to render them hydrophobic. Treating agents used for such a purpose may be a fatty acid or a fatty acid ester such as a stearate, or with organosilanes , organosiloxanes , or organosilazanes hexaalkyl disilazane or short chain siloxane diols to render the filler (s) hydrophobic and therefore easier to handle and obtain a homogeneous mix ture with the other sealant components The surface treatment of the fillers makes them easily wetted by siloxane polymer (ai) and can be homogeneously incorporated into the silicone polymer (ai) of the base component. This results in improved room temperature mechanical properties of the uncured composi tions . The condensation cure binder may also include rheological mod ifiers; Adhesion promoters, pigments, Heat stabilizers, Flame retardants, UV stabilizers, Chain extenders, electrically and/or heat conductive fillers and/or Fungicides and/or bio cides The condensation cure binder may be provided as either a one or two part organopolysiloxane sealant composition. A two part composition comprises in the first part polymer and fill er (when required) and in the second part catalyst and cross linker are provided for mixing in an appropriate ratio (e.g. from 1:1 to 10:1) immediately prior to use. Additional addi tives may be provided in either the first or second part of the two part composition.

Addition curable Binder

The siloxane polymer used in an addition curable binder (aii) is generally the same as that for the condensation curable binder with the -OH groups or hydrolysable groups replaced by Si-alkenyl groups or Si-H groups, preferably Si-alkenyl groups. Typically the polymer will have 2 or more Si-alkenyl groups per molecule.

The viscosity of organopolysiloxane (aii) at 25° C is typical ly within a range of from 10,000 to 1,000,000 mPa.s, alterna tively from 10,000 to 500,000 mPa.s, alternatively from 10,000 to 100,000 mPa.s. Unless otherwise indicated, all viscosities are measured using a rotational viscometer such as a Brookfield viscometer, or by using a capillary rheometer.

Examples of the organopolysiloxane (aii) which may be used in clude vinyldimethylsiloxy-endblocked dimethylsiloxane-vinyl- methylsiloxane copolymer, vinyldimethylsiloxy-endblocked poly- dimethylsiloxane, vinylmethylhydroxysiloxy-endblocked dimeth- ylsiloxane-vinylmethylsiloxane copolymer, and mixtures there of .

The organopolysiloxane (aii) may be either a single polymer, or a combination of two or more different polymers.

The organopolysiloxane (aii) is present in the binder compo nent at a level of from 5 to 95% based on the total weight of the binder component, alternatively from 35 to 85% by weight, based on the total weight of the binder component, alterna tively from 40 to 80% by weight based on the total weight of the binder component and further alternatively from 50 to 80% by weight based on the total weight of the binder component.

The addition curable binder further comprises an organopolysiloxane containing at least 2 silicon-bonded hydro gen atoms per molecule. There are no special restrictions with regard to the molecular structure of component (bii) that may have a linear, branched, cyclic, or a three-dimensional net- like molecular structure. There are no special restrictions with regard to viscosity of component (aii) at 25°C, but it may be recommended that this component has a viscosity ranging from 1 to 100,000 mPa-s at 25°C. Silicon-bonded organic groups used in component (bii) may be exemplified by methyl, ethyl, propyl, butenyl, pentenyl, hexyl, or similar alkyl groups; phenyl, tolyl, xylyl, or similar aryl groups; 3-chloropropyl , 3 , 3 , 3-trifluoropropyl , or similar halogenated alkyl group, preferable of which are methyl and phenyl groups.

Component (bii) can be exemplified by the following compounds: a methylhydrogenpolysiloxane capped at both molecular termi nals with trimethylsiloxy groups; a copolymer of a methylhydrogensiloxane and a dimethylsiloxane capped at both molecular terminals with trimethylsiloxy groups; dimethylsiloxane capped at both molecular terminals with dimethylhydrogensiloxy groups; a copolymer of a methylhydrogensiloxane and a dimethylsiloxane capped at both molecular terminals with dimethylhydrogensiloxy groups; a co polymer of a methylhydrogensiloxane and a methylphenylsiloxane capped at both molecular terminals with dimethylphenylsiloxy groups; a cyclic methylhydrogenpolysiloxane ; a copolymer con sisting of ( CH ₃ ) ₂ HS iO / ₂ siloxane units and S i0 ₄ / ₂ units; a co polymer consisting of ( CH ₃ ) ₂ HS iO / ₂ siloxane units, ( CH ₃ ) ₃ S iO / ₂ siloxane units, and Si04/2 units, the aforementioned organopolysiloxanes in which a part or all methyl groups are substituted with ethyl, propyl, or similar alkyl groups; phe nyl, tolyl, or similar aryl groups; 3 , 3 , 3-trifluoropropyl , or similar halogenated alkyl groups; or a mixture of two or more of the aforementioned organopolysiloxanes.

The organopolysiloxane (bii) is generally present in the bind er component in an amount of from 0.1 to 15% by weight, based on the total weight of the binder component.

The organopolysiloxane (bii) is generally present in the bind er component in an amount such that the ratio of the mole num ber of silicon-bonded hydrogen atoms of component (bii) to the mole number of alkenyl groups of component (aii) ranges from (0.7 : 1.0) to (5.0 : 1.0), preferably from (0.9 : 1.0) to (2.5 : 1.0), and most preferably from (0.9 : 1.0) to (2.0 : 1.0).

Typically dependent on the number of unsaturated groups in component (aii) and the number of Si-H groups in component (bii) , component (bii) will be present in an amount of from 0.1 to 40% by weight of the binder component, alternatively from 0.5 to 20%, by weight of the binder component, alterna tively 0.5 to 10% by weight of the binder component, further alternatively from 1% to 5% by weight of the binder component. Component (cii) is one or more addition-reaction catalysts in cluding catalysts selected form the platinum group metals, or transition metals, of the periodic table of the elements, such as platinum, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium and iridi um; and compounds thereof. Component (cii) catalyses the reac tion between the vinyl groups of component (aii) and the Si-H groups of component (bii) resulting in a cross-linked network when the composition is cured.

The catalyst used herein is preferably selected from the plat inum based catalysts, such as chloroplatinic acid, chloroplatinic acid dissolved in an alcohol or a ketone and these solutions which have been ripened, chloroplatinic acid- olefin complexes, chloroplatinic acid-alkenylsiloxane complex es, chloroplatinic acid-diketone complexes, platinum black, platinum supported on a carrier, and mixtures thereof.

The catalyst (cii) is added in a quantity sufficient to cure the organopolysiloxane (aii) and the organopolysiloxane (bii) present in the composition. For example, it may be added in a quantity of platinum atom that provides of from 0.1 to 500 weight-ppm (parts per million), alternatively of from 1 to 200 weight-ppm, alternatively of from 1 to 100 weight-ppm, of platinum atom in the catalyst (cii) based on the total weight of reactive organopolysiloxanes (aii) and (bii) . Dependent on the ratios above typically there will be from 0.01% to 10% by weight of the binder component in the form of catalyst, alter natively 0.01% to 5% by weight of the binder component in the form of catalyst, further alternatively from 0.05% to 2% by weight of the binder component in the form of catalyst.

Component (dii) is one or more finely divided, reinforcing fillers and/or non-reinforcing fillers as hereinbefore de scribed in relation to the condensation curable binder. As previously discussed such fillers may be hydrophobically treated to improve room temperature mechanical properties of the uncured compositions. Furthermore, the surface treated fillers give a lower conductivity than untreated or raw mate rial .

Typically the fillers used will be in the form of fine powders having a specific surface area measured by BET method of from about 50 m ² /g up to 450 m ² /g.

Optionally the addition curable binder may comprise one or more optional Addition-reaction inhibitors (e) of platinum based catalysts are well known in the art. Addition-reaction inhibitors include hydrazines, triazoles, phosphines, mercaptans, organic nitrogen compounds, acetylenic alcohols, silylated acetylenic alcohols, maleates, fumarates, ethylenically or aromatically unsaturated amides, ethylenically unsaturated isocyanates, olefinic siloxanes, un saturated hydrocarbon monoesters and diesters, conjugated ene- ynes, hydroperoxides, nitriles, and diaziridines .

The inhibitors (e) which may be utilised in the composition described above may be selected from the group consisting of acetylenic alcohols and their derivatives, containing at least one unsaturated bond. Examples of acetylenic alcohols and their derivatives include 1-ethynyl-l-cyclohexanol (ETCH) , 2- methyl-3-butyn-2-ol, 3-butyn-l-ol, 3-butyn-2-ol, propargyl- alcohol, 2-phenyl-2-propyn-l-ol, 3, 5-dimethyl-l-hexyn-3-ol, 1- ethynylcyclopentanol , l-phenyl-2-propynol, 3-methyl-l-penten- 4-yn-3-ol, and mixtures thereof.

Alternatively, the inhibitor is selected from the group con sisting of 1- ethynyl-l-cyclohexanol, 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol , 3-butyn-l-ol, 3-butyn-2-ol, propargylalcohol , 2-phenyl-2- propyn-l-ol, 3, 5-dimethyl-l-hexyn-3-ol, 1-ethynylcyclopenta- nol, l-phenyl-2-propynol, and mixtures thereof. The inhibitor (e) may typically be an acetylenic alcohols where the at least one unsaturated bond (alkenyl group) is in a terminal position, and further, a methyl or phenyl group may be at the alpha position. The inhibitor may be selected from the group consisting of 1-ethynyl-l-cyclohexanol, 2-methyl-3- butyn-2-ol, 3-butyn-l-ol, 3-butyn-2-ol, propargylalcohol , 2- phenyl-2-propyn-l-ol, l-phenyl-2-propynol, and mixtures there of .

The inhibitor (e) may be added in the range of from 10 to 50,000 weight-ppm in the curable silicone elastomer composi tion.

When present the inhibitor (e) is present in an amount provid ing a molar ratio of inhibitor to the platinum atom of from 150:1 to 900:1, alternatively of from 150:1 to 700:1, alterna tively of from 150:1 to 600:1.

The addition cure binder may also include rheological modifi ers; Adhesion promoters, pigments, Heat stabilizers, Flame re tardants, UV stabilizers, Chain extenders, electrically and/or heat conductive fillers and/or Fungicides and/or biocides The addition cure binder may be provided as either a one or two part organopolysiloxane sealant composition. A two part compo sition comprises in the first part polymer and filler (when required) and in the second part catalyst and cross-linker are provided for mixing in an appropriate ratio (e.g. from 1:1 to 10:1) immediately prior to use. Additional additives may be provided in either the first or second part of the two part composition .

Silicone water borne elastomer ( SWBE) Binder

A silicone water borne elastomer binder may comprise (i) a cross-linked polysiloxane dispersion of a reaction product of

(i)a siloxane polymer having at least two -OH groups per molecule, or polymer mixture having at least two -OH groups per molecule, having a viscosity of be tween 5,000 to 500,000 mPa.s at 25°C, and

(ii) at least one self catalyzing crosslinker reac tive with (i) (i) , and additionally comprising (i) (c) a surfactant and (i) (d) water;

together with one or more of the following ingredients:

(ii) one or more fillers (excluding hydrophilic powder and/or gels) selected from the group of colloidal silica, fumed silica, precipitated silica, diatomaceous earths, ground quartz, kaolin, calcined kaolin, wollastonite, hydroxyap atite, calcium carbonate, hydrated alumina, magnesium hy droxide, carbon black, titanium dioxide, aluminium oxide, vermiculite, zinc oxide, mica, talcum, iron oxide, barium sulphate and slaked lime;

(iii) one or more stabilizers;

(iv) one or more rheology modifiers.

The reaction product (i) may additionally comprise one or more additives such as in-situ resin reinforcers and pH stabi lizers. The dispersion is produced by mixing the above compo nents at a sufficiently high shear to transform the mixture into a gel phase and by then diluting the gel with water to the desired silicone content.

The siloxane polymers or polymer mixtures (i) (i) used as starting materials for the reaction product (i) above have a viscosity between 5,000 to 500,000 mPa.s. at 25°C using a re cording Brookfield viscometer with Spindle 3 at 2 rpm accord ing to ASTM D4287 - 00(2010). The siloxane polymers are de scribed by the following molecular Formula (3) Z _3-n R ⁹ _n -AO- (R ¹⁰ ₂ SiO) _z -A-R ⁹ _n Z _3-n (1) where n is 0, 1, 2 or 3, z is an integer from 500 to 5000 in clusive, Z is a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group and any con densable or any hydrolyzable group, A is a Si atom or an Si- (CH2) _m -SiR ¹⁰ 2 group, R ⁹ is individually selected from the group consisting of aliphatic, alkyl, aminoalkyl, polyaminoalkyl , epoxyalkyl, alkenyl or aromatic aryl groups and R ¹⁰ is individ ually selected from the group consisting of Z, aliphatic, al kyl, alkenyl and aromatic groups.

The siloxane polymer (i) (i) can be a single siloxane repre sented by Formula (3) or it can be mixtures of siloxanes rep resented by the aforesaid formula or solvent/polymer mixtures. The term "polymer mixture" is meant to include any of these types of polymers or mixtures of polymers. As used herein, the term "silicone content" means the total amount of silicone in the dispersed phase of the dispersion, from whatever source, including, but not limited to the silicone polymer, polymer mixtures, self catalytic crosslinkers, in situ resin reinforc ers and stabilizers.

Each Z group may be the same or different and can be a hydro gen atom, hydroxyl group and any condensable or hydrolyzable group. The term "hydrolyzable group" means any group attached to the silicon which is hydrolyzed by water at room tempera ture. The hydrolyzable group Z includes hydrogen atom, halogen atoms, such as F, Cl, Br or I; groups of the Formula -OT, where T is any hydrocarbon or halogenated hydrocarbon group, such as methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, octadecyl, allyl, hexenyl, cyclohexyl, phenyl, benzyl, beta-phenylethyl ; any hydrocarbon ether radical, such as 2-methoxyethyl, 2-ethoxyisopropyl, 2- butoxyisobutyl , p-methoxyphenyl or - (CH2CH2O) 2CH _{3 ;} or any N,N- amino radical, such as dimethylamino, diethylamino, ethyl- methylamino, diphenylamino or dicyclohexylamino ; N¾; any ketoxime radical of the formula -ON=CM ¹ 2 or -ON=CM' in which M ¹ , is any monovalent hydrocarbon or halogenated hydrocarbon radical, such as those shown for T above and M' is any diva lent hydrocarbon radical, both valences of which are attached to the carbon, such as hexylene, pentylene or octylene; ureido groups of the formula -N(M ¹ )CONM"2 in which M ¹ is defined above and M" is hydrogen atom or any of the above M ¹ radicals; car boxyl groups of the formula -OOCM ¹ M" in which M ¹ and M" are de fined above or carboxylic amide radicals of the formula -NM ¹ C=0(M") in which M ¹ and M" are defined above. Z can also be the sulphate group or sulphate ester groups of the formula -OSO2 (OM ¹ ) , where M ¹ is as defined above; the cyano group; the isocyanate group; and the phosphate group or phosphate ester groups of the formula -OPO(OM ¹ ) 2 in which M ¹ is defined above.

The most preferred Z groups are hydroxyl groups or alkoxy groups. Illustrative alkoxy groups are methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy, butoxy, isobutoxy, pentoxy, hexoxy and 2-ethylhexoxy; dialkoxy radicals, such as methoxymethoxy or ethoxymethoxy and alkoxyaryloxy, such as ethoxyphenoxy . The most preferred alkoxy groups are methoxy or ethoxy. R is individually selected from the group consisting of aliphatic, alkyl, aminoalkyl, polyaminoalkyl , epoxyalkyl, alkenyl organic and aromatic aryl groups. Most preferred are the methyl, ethyl, octyl, vinyl, allyl and phenyl groups.

R ¹⁰ is individually selected from the group consisting of Z, aliphatic, alkyl, alkenyl and aromatic aryl groups. Most pre ferred are methyl, ethyl, octyl, trifluoropropyl , vinyl and phenyl groups .

When the siloxane polymer of formula (3) has an average of more than two condensable or hydrolyzable groups per molecule which are self-catalytic, it is not necessary to have the self catalytic crosslinker present separately to form a cross- linked polymer. The condensable or hydrolyzable groups on the different siloxane molecules can react with each other to form the required crosslinks.

The siloxane polymer (i) (i) can be a mixture of different kinds of molecules, for example, long chain linear molecules and short chain linear or branched molecules. These molecules may react with each other to form a cross-linked network. Such siloxanes, which can take the place of more conventional crosslinkers, are illustrated by low molecular weight organosilicon hydrides, such as polymethylhydrogensiloxane, low molecular weight copolymers containing methylhydro- gensiloxy and dimethylsiloxy groups, - (OSi (OEt) 2) -, (ethylpoly- silicate) , (OSiMeC2H ₄ Si (OMe) 3) ₄ and (OSi-MeON=CR ' 2) 4, where Me is methyl and Et is ethyl.

Advantageously, the siloxane polymer (i) (i) also comprises mixtures of siloxane polymers of formula (3) , exemplified by, but not limited to, mixtures of a, w-hydroxysiloxy terminated siloxanes and of a, w-bis (triorganosiloxy) terminated siloxanes, mixtures of ,w -hydroxylsiloxy terminated siloxanes and of -hydroxy, w-triorganosiloxy terminated siloxanes, mixtures of a, w-dialkoxysiloxy terminated siloxanes and of a, w-bis (tri-organosiloxy) terminated siloxanes, mix tures of a, w-dialkoxysiloxy terminated siloxanes and of ,w- hydroxysiloxy terminated siloxanes, mixtures of ,w- hydroxysiloxy terminated siloxanes and of ,w- bis (triorganosiloxy) terminated poly (diorgano) (hydrogen- organo) siloxane copolymers. The siloxane polymer of the inven tion can also comprise mixtures of siloxane polymers of formu la (3) as described above with liquid, branched methylpoly- siloxane polymers ("MDT fluids") comprising a combination of recurring units of the formulae: (CH ₃₎ 3S1O1/2 ("M")

(CH _{3) 2} SiO ("D")

CH ₃ Si0 _3/2 ("T") and containing from 0.1 to 8% by weight of hydroxyl groups. The fluids may be prepared by co-hydrolysis of the correspond ing chloro- or alkoxy-silanes , as described, for example, in U.S. Patent 3,382,205. The proportion of MDT fluids added should not exceed 50 parts, preferably of 1 to 20 parts by weight, per 100 parts by weight of the polymer of Formula (3) , to achieve improved physical properties and adhesion of the resultant polymers.

The siloxane polymer of the present invention can also com prise mixtures of siloxane polymers of Formula (3) with liquid or solid, branched methylsiloxane polymeric resins comprising a combination of recurring units of the formulae:

(CH _{3) 3} SiOi _/2 ("M")

(CH ₃₎₂ S10 ("D")

CH ₃ Si0 _3/2 ("T")

Si0 _4/2 ("Q") and containing from 0.1 to 8% by weight of hydroxyl groups, the fluids may be prepared by co-hydrolysis of the correspond ing chloro- or alkoxy-silanes, as described, for example in U.S. Patent 2,676,182. The MDTQ fluid/resin may be added in a proportion not exceeding 50 parts, preferably of 1 to 10 parts by weight, per 100 parts by weight of the polymer of Formula (3) to improve physical properties and adhesion of the result ant polymers. MDTQ fluids/resins can also be mixed with MDT fluids and the polymers of Formula (3) .

Finally, the siloxane polymer (i) (i) can comprise mixtures of siloxane polymers of Formula (3) with compatible organic sol- vents, to form organic polymer/solvent mixtures. These organic solvents are exemplified by organophosphate esters, alkanes, such as hexane or heptane; higher paraffins; and aromatic sol vents, such as toluene or benzene. The polymer solvent mix tures can also be added with MDT fluids and/or MDTQ fluids to the polymer of Formula (3) . Any of the above mixtures of poly mers or polymer/solvents can be prepared by mixing the ingre dients prior to emulsification or by emulsifying them individ ually and then mixing the prepared emulsions.

The at least one self catalytic crosslinker (i) (ii) reactive with (i) (i) to form reaction product (i) is present in the amount of 1 to 5 parts by weight per 100 parts of siloxane polymer. The term "self catalytic crosslinker" means a mole cule that has at least one group serving as the catalytic spe cies. While in certain circumstances only one self catalytic crosslinker may be needed to produce an elastomer having the desired physical properties, those skilled in the art will recognize that two or more self catalytic crosslinkers may be added to the reaction mixture to achieve excellent results. In addition, the self catalytic crosslinker or crosslinkers may be added with a conventional catalyst. However, adding the self catalytic crosslinker with a conventional catalyst is not required for the practice of this invention and the composi tions contemplated by this invention may in fact be free of said conventional catalysts.

Typical self catalytic crosslinkers include tri or tetra func tional compounds, such as R-Si-(Q)3 or Si-(Q) ₄ , where Q is car boxylic, 0C(0)R ⁴ , e.g., acetoxy and R ⁴ is an alkyl group of 1 to 8 carbon atoms inclusive, preferably methyl, ethyl or vi nyl. Other preferred Q groups are the hydroxyl amines, ON(R ⁴ )2, where each R is the same or different alkyl group of 1 to 8 carbon atoms inclusive, e.g., ON(CH2CH3)2- Q may also be an oxime group, such as 0-N=C(R ⁴ ) ₂ , where each R ⁴ is the same or different alkyl group of 1 to 8 carbon atoms inclusive, e.g., 0-N=C(CH3) (CH2CH3) . Further, Q may be an amine group, such as N (R ¹³ ) ₂ , where R ¹³ is the same or different alkyl group of 1 to 8 carbon atoms inclusive or cyclic alkyl group, e.g., N(CH3) 2 or NH (cyclohexyl) . Finally, Q may be an acetamido group, NRC (0) R ⁴ , where R ⁴ is an alkyl group of 1 to 8 carbon atoms inclusive, e.g. N (CH ₃ ) C (0) CH ₃ .

In addition, partial hydrolysis products of the aforementioned compounds may also function as self catalytic crosslinkers. This would include dimers, trimers, tetramers and the like, for example, compounds of the formula:

Q Q

^R4 - S— O— s ^R4

Q Q where Q and R ⁴ are defined in the preceding paragraph.

Also useful as self catalytic crosslinkers are those polymeric or copolymeric species containing 3 or more (Q) sites located at either pendant or terminal positions or both on the back bone of a polydiorganosiloxane molecule. Examples of the pen dent group include compositions of the following formula:

R ⁴ ₃ SiO(R ⁴ ₂ SiO) _a (R ⁴ SiO) _b SiR ⁴ ₃

ON(CH ₂ CH ₃ ) ₂ where R ⁴ is the same or different alkyl group of from 1 to 8 carbon atoms inclusive and a is 0 or a positive integer and b is an integer greater than 2. In general, polymeric composi tions having either pendent or terminal Q groups may be used in the practice of the present invention, in particular, com pounds of the formula:

Q _3-n R ¹⁴ _n SiO (R ¹⁴ ₂ SiO) _z SiR ¹⁴ _n Q _3-n where n is 0, 1, 2 or 3, z is a positive integer, R ¹⁴ is Q or independently the same or different alkyl chain of 1 to 8 car bon atoms inclusive as long as there are at least three Q groups on the molecule. Q is as described above.

Effective self catalytic crosslinkers are those compounds which form tack free elastomers when mixed with functional silicone polymers in the absence of additional catalysts such as tin carboxylates or amines. In the self catalytic crosslinkers, the acetoxy, oxime, hydroxyl amine (aminoxy) , acetamide and amide groups catalyze the formation of Si-O-Si bonds in the reactions contemplated by this invention.

One skilled in the art would recognize that the starting poly mer itself could be pre-endblocked with self catalytic cross- linking moieties. Optionally, further self-catalytic crosslinkers can be added to such compositions.

The surfactant (c) may be selected from nonionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, anionic surfactants, amphoteric surfac tants or mixtures thereof. The surfactant (c) is present in our composition in an amount of 0.5 to 10 parts by weight of siloxane polymer (i) (i) and is preferably present in the amount of 2 to 10 parts.

Most preferred are nonionic surfactants known in the art as being useful in emulsification of polysiloxanes . Useful nonionic surfactants are polyoxyalkylene alkyl ethers, polyoxyalkylene sorbitan esters, polyoxyalkylene esters, polyoxyalkylene alkylphenyl ethers, ethoxylated amides and others .

Cationic and anionic surfactants known in the art as being useful in emulsification of polysiloxanes are also useful as the surfactant in the instant invention. Suitable cationic surfactants are aliphatic fatty amines and their derivatives, such as dodecylamine acetate, octadecylamine acetate and ace tates of the amines of tallow fatty acids; homologues of aro matic amines having fatty chains, such as dodecylanalin; fatty amides derived from aliphatic diamines, such as undecyl- imidazoline; fatty amides derived from disubstituted amines, such as oleylaminodiethylamine ; derivatives of ethylene diamine; quaternary ammonium compounds, such as tallow trimethyl ammonium chloride, dioctadecyldimethyl ammonium chloride, didodecyldimethyl ammonium chloride and dihexadecyl- dimethyl ammonium chloride; amide derivatives of amino alco hols, such as beta-hydroxyethylstearyl amide; amine salts of long chain fatty acids; quaternary ammonium bases derived from fatty amides of di-substituted diamines, such as oleylbenzyl- aminoethylene diethylamine hydrochloride; quaternary ammonium bases of the benzimidazolines , such as methylheptadecyl benzimidazole hydrobromide; basic compounds of pyridinium and its derivatives, such as cetylpyridinium chloride; sulfonium compounds, such as octadecylsulfonium methyl sulphate; quater nary ammonium compounds of betaine, such as betaine compounds of diethylamino acetic acid and octadecylchloromethyl ether; urethanes of ethylene diamine, such as the condensation prod ucts of stearic acid and diethylene triamine; polyethylene diamines and polypropanolpolyethanol amines.

Suitable anionic surfactants are carboxylic, phosphoric and sulfonic acids and their salt derivatives. The anionic surfac tants useful in the instant invention are alkyl carboxylates; acyl lactylates; alkyl ether carboxylates; n-acyl sarcosinate; n-acyl glutamates; fatty acid-polypeptide condensates; alkali metal sulforicinates ; sulfonated glycerol esters of fatty ac ids, such as sulfonated monoglycerides of coconut oil acids; salts of sulfonated monovalent alcohol esters, such as sodium oleylisethionate ; amides of amino sulfonic acids, such as the sodium salt of oleyl methyl tauride; sulfonated products of fatty acids nitriles, such as palmitonitrile sulfonate; sulfonated aromatic hydrocarbons, such as sodium alpha- naphthalene monosulfonate; condensation products of naphtha lene sulfonic acids with formaldehyde; sodium octahydro- anthracene sulfonate; alkali metal alkyl sulphates, ether sul phates having alkyl groups of 8 or more carbon atoms and alkylarylsulfonates having 1 or more alkyl groups of 8 or more carbon atoms .

Suitable amphoteric surfactants are glycinates, betaines, sultaines and alkyl aminopropionates . These include cocoamph- glycinate, cocoamphocarboxy-glycinates , cocoamidopropyl- betaine, lauryl betaine, cocoamidopropylhydroxysultaine, laurylsulataine and cocoamphodipropionate .

Amphoteric surfactants commercially available and useful in the instant invention are REWOTERIC® AM TEG, AM DLM-35, AM B14 LS, AM CAS and AM LP produced by SHEREX CHEMICAL CO., Dublin, OH.

In addition to adding the surfactant to the siloxane polymer, the mixture also includes a predetermined amount of water. The water is present in the mixture in an amount of 0.5 to 30 parts by weight of siloxane polymer and is preferably present in the amount of 2 to 10 parts. Water may also be added after mixing, in any amount, to dilute the gel phase.

The reaction product (i) may additionally comprise one or more additives such as in-situ resin reinforcers, stabilizers, e.g., pH stabilizers, fillers and the like may also be added to the mixture. The reaction product (i) is produced by mixing the above components at a sufficiently high shear to transform the mixture into a gel phase and by then diluting the gel with water to the desired silicone content.

The reaction product of (i) (i) a siloxane polymer having at least two -OH groups per molecule, or polymer mixture having at least two -OH groups per molecule, having a viscosity of between 5, 000 to 500,000 mPa.s at 25°C, and (i) (ii) at least one self catalyzing crosslinker reactive with (i) (i) , addi tionally comprising (c) a surfactant and (d) water; typically comprises, excluding additives (i.e. on the basis that the (product of (i) (i) +(i) (ii) ) + (c) + (d) is 100% by weight),

70 to 90% by weight of the reaction product of (i) (i) + (i) (ii) , 3 to 10% by weight of (c) and 7 to 20% by weight of component (d) . Alternatively, excluding additives (i.e. on the basis that the (product of (i) (i) + (i) (ii) + (c) + (d) is 100% by weight) , 80 to 90% by weight of the reaction product of (i) (i) + (i) (ii) , 3 to 8% by weight of (c) and 7 to 15% by weight of component (d) .

In addition, in situ resin reinforcers, such as methyltrimethoxy silane, vinyltrimethoxy silane, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) , normal propylorthosilicate (NPOS) may be added with the self catalyzing crosslinker. It is believed that adding in situ resin reinforcers to the polydiorgano- siloxane/self catalytic crosslinker mixture forms an in situ resin having a highly branched and cross-linked structure, which results in improved physical properties of the elasto mer, particularly the tensile, elongation and hardness proper ties. It also results in improved clarity of the resulting elastomer . Stabilizers may also be added to the composition. These may comprise any suitable stabilizer, for example a pH stabilizer or any aminosilane containing polymeric or neat aminosilane will function as a stabilizer. Neat aminosilanes include com pounds of the formula

(R ¹⁵ 0) _3-n R ¹⁵ _n nSiQ ¹ NR ¹⁵ _y H _2-y where n and y are independently 0, 1 or 2; R ¹⁵ is the same or different alkyl chain of 1 to 8 carbon atoms inclusive, Q ¹ is (CH ₂ ) _b or { (CH ₂ ) _b N(R ¹⁵ ) } _w , where b is an integer from 1 to 10 and w is from 0 to 3 inclusive.

Polymeric amino silanes may also be used in the practice of the present invention, such as reaction products of silanol functional siloxane fluids and aminosilanes or silanol func tional siloxane fluids and alkoxysilanes and aminosilanes. For example, one useful polymeric amino siloxane particularly use ful has the formula:

(CH ₃ 0) ₂ CH ₂ Si0((CH ₃ ) ₂ Si0) _z Si(0CH ₃ ) ₂

(CH ₂ ) ₃ NH(CH ₂ ) ₂ NH ₂ where z is from 3 to 40.

To prepare the binder component of the instant invention, siloxane polymer (i) (i) and the self catalyzing crosslinker (i) (ii) are mixed. Water (d) and surfactant (c) are then added to the siloxane polymer (i) (i) and the self catalyzing crosslinker (i) (ii) is mixed in until a high solids gel phase is formed. Any type of mixing equipment may be used including low shear mixing equipment, such as Turrello (TM) , Neulinger (TM) or Ross (TM) mixers. The gel will also exhibit excellent shelf stability and may be stored for long periods of time or even transported if required. The other ingredients of the composition may be introduced during the preparation of the pre-cured dispersion or alternatively may be added into the composition in any suitable order prior to use and after mixing, the resulting composition may be diluted with water to the desired silicone content. Both the dispersion alone and the composition may be stored for long periods of time and will exhibit excellent freeze/thaw stability.

The cross-linked polysiloxane dispersion composition may then be mixed with the other ingredients prior to use or dispensed and will form an elastomeric film upon the evaporation of wa ter. The method of treating a substrate may include applying the cross-linked polysiloxane dispersion to the substrate. As such, the method of treating a substrate may further comprise evaporating water from the cross-linked polysiloxane disper sion composition after the cross-linked polysiloxane disper sion composition is applied to the substrate to form a sili cone latex elastomer on the substrate. The step of evaporation of water may be performed under ambient, or atmospheric condi tions at the location of the substrate when the cross-linked polysiloxane dispersion composition is applied. Alternatively, the step of evaporation of water may be performed under arti ficially heated conditions, produced by one or more heaters.

Once prepared, the aforementioned reaction product (i) may be mixed with the other ingredients of the binder component in any suitable order. It will be appreciated that all binder component determined by wt% add up to a total of 100 wt%. The cross-linked polysiloxane dispersion binder component will typically comprise from 30 to 80 wt%, alternatively 30 to 60 wt%, alternatively 35 to 50 wt% of reaction product (i) as hereinbefore described. The cross-linked polysiloxane dispersion binder composition also comprises one or more fillers (other than hydrophilic powder and/or gels) . Suitable fillers include, for the sake of example, colloidal silica, silica powders made by combustion (fumed silica) and precipitation (precipitated silica) , semi reinforcing agents, such as diatomaceous earths or ground quartz. Nonsiliceous fillers may also be added, such as, cal cium carbonate, hydrated alumina, magnesium hydroxide, carbon black, titanium dioxide, aluminium oxide, vermiculite, zinc oxide, mica, talcum, iron oxide, barium sulphate, slaked lime, kaolin, calcined kaolin, wollastonite, and hydroxyapatite.

Other fillers which might be used alone or in addition to the above, include the non-reinforcing fillers as herein before described If necessary, liquid alkoxysilanes which are soluble in the siloxane polymer (i) (i) may also be added with the filler to compatibilise the filler with the siloxane polymers.

Typically the filler (s), when present in the binder composi tion, are present in an amount of from 10 to 200 weight parts of filler per 100 wt parts of siloxane polymer (i) (i) , alter natively from 15 to 100 weight parts of filler per 100 wt parts of siloxane polymer (i) (i) . Hydrophobing agents may be provided to treat the aforementioned filler (s) to render them hydrophobic as hereinbefore described. Volatile organic amines and volatile inorganic bases are useful as stabilizers for silicas that would yield heat stable elastomers, e.g., (R ⁷ ) ₃ _ _x N(H) _x , where x= 0, 1, 2 or 3, R ⁷ is an alkyl or aryl group, such as (CH ₃ ) ₂ NH or R ⁷ is an alcohol group, such as N(CH ₂ CH ₂ <0H) ₃ or NH (CH2CH2OH) 2 · The volatile organic amines include cyclohexylamine, triethylamine, dimethylaminomethylpropanol , diethylaminoethanol , aminomethyl propanol, aminobutanol , monoethanolamine, monoisopropanolamine, dimethylethanolamine, diethanolamine, aminoethylpropanediol , aminomethylpropanesiol , diisopropanolamine, morpholine, tris (hydroxymethyl) aminomethane, triisoproanolamine, triethanolamine, aniline and urea. In addition to the volatile organic amines, volatile inorganic bases, such as ammonia and ammonium carbonate, also yield heat stable elastomers.

The binder composition may also contain one or more rheology modifiers, such as, natural and modified natural materials, such as, for example starch, modified starch, cellulose, modi fied cellulose, proteins, and modified proteins. Alternative ly, the rheology modifiers may be synthetic including, for ex ample, (optionally hydrophobically treated) alkali swellable emulsions of homo-polymers of (meth) acrylic acids and copoly mers thereof with methacrylate esters, hydrophobically modi fied ethoxylated urethane resin, dimeric and trimeric fatty acids and/or imidazolines. Furthermore, the rheology modifi ers, when utilized, are present in an amount of from 0.25 wt% to 5 wt% of the composition.

The hydrophilic powder and/or gel of the invention may have been mixed with blends of any binder materials as described above, or combinations thereof with additional binder materi als functioning as additional co-binder or hardener. The bind er may be a hybrid binder system comprising a siloxane polymer composition or silicone resin composition, as preferred, in combination with an organic binder. Suitable hybrid combina tions with organic binders are e.g. (i) organic amine and/or silicone resin having amine groups and/or siloxane polymers having amine groups and epoxy hardener (s), (ii) organic amine and/or silicone resins having amine groups and/or siloxane polymers having amine groups and isocyanate hardener (s), (iii) organic alcohol and/or silicone resins having carbinol groups and/or siloxane polymers having carbinol groups and isocyanate hardener (s), (iv) organic amine and/or silicone resins having amine groups and/or siloxane polymers having amine groups and carboxylic acid hardener (s) . The binder of the present inven- tion may be added to the hydrophilic powder and/or gel in form of a solution, dispersion or emulsion and thus contains a dis solving/dispersing/-emulsifying liquid .

When the binder is applied as a solution, it may be in the form of a solution in water, aromatic or non-aromatic sol vents, alcohols, ethers, oils, silicone or siloxane fluids or combinations thereof as dissolving liquid, xylene, methoxy propyl acetate (PMA) , dibasic esters (DBE) such as esters of adipic acid, glutaric acid, and succinic acid or alcohols such as ethanol, or Si-based fluids. The silicone based fluid may for example be a trimethylsilyl terminated polydimethylsiloxanes having a viscosity at 25°C of from 100 to 50,00 OmPa . s .

When the binder is applied as a dispersion or an emulsion, it may be in the form of a dispersion or an emulsion in water, which may be combined with a co-solvent such as an alcohol, e.g., methanol, ethanol or isopropanol, as dispers ing/emulsifying liquid.

Alternatively, the binder of the present invention is free of a dissolving/dispersing/-emulsifying liquid. Such binders are also referred to as being solventless. Preferably the binder is a solventless siloxane or silicone-based binder. A commer cially available solventless alkoxy siloxane binder product is US-CF-2403 resin of Dow Corning ^® , Midland, MI, USA.

Prior to use the binder may be stored as a one part composi tion but alternatively may be stored in two or more parts un til immediately prior to use when the parts are mixed together and utilised as required by for example being applied directly onto a substrate or being introduced into further ingredients of e.g. a paint composition. Each part may be either a solid or liquid. When the binder is stored in two or more parts, these parts are mixed together to form a curable composition immediately prior to use. The two or more parts may may con tain binder ingredients in any combination providing when pre sent reactive polymer (or resin) which is not in the same part as both the cross-linker and catalyst. For example the poly mer/resin may be in a first part with the hydrophilic powder and/or gel as hereinbefore described and any reinforcing fill er or non-reinforcing filler and the second part may contain a cure package. Alternatively there could be a three part compo sition in which part of the polymer is stored with the hydro philic powder and/or gel as hereinbefore described in a first part; a second part could include the remaining polymer and reinforcing or non-reinforcing fillers and the third part com prise the cross-linker and polymer.

The composition of the present invention typically comprises 1.0 to 80.0% by weight of the hydrophilic powder and/or gel and and 20.0 to 99.0% by weight of the binder, preferably 1.0 to 20.0% by weight of the hydrophilic powder and/or gel and 80.0 to 99.0% by weight of the binder, more preferred 5.0 to 10.0% by weight of the hydrophilic powder and/or gel and 90.0 to 95.0% by weight of the binder.

When organic (silicon free) co-binders or hardeners are pre sent these may be present in an amount of from 2 to 40% by weight of the total composition.

In case of solution, dispersion or emulsion type binders, the composition contains from 15.0 to 90.0% by weight of dissolv ing/dispersing/emulsifying liquid, based on the total weight of the binder, preferably 30.0 to 60.0% by weight.

In addition to the above mentioned components, materials the composition may also comprise non-porous particles. Preferred non-porous particles are, e.g., particles of fumed silica. Un- like the hydrophilic powder and/or gel described above fumed silicas are non-porous and are used as thickeners and/or re enforcing materials in applications such as paints or seal ants. These materials are not known as insulative fillers.

In addition to the components mentioned above the composition of the present invention may also comprise one or more addi tives selected from thickeners, pigments, additional cata lysts, additional reinforcing and/or non-reinforcing fill er (s), flame retardants, additional water or solvent, foam stabilizers, and/or any other additional insulating fillers (i.e. excluding the hydrophilic powder and/or gel as defined above) , wherein the insulating fillers preferably comprise hollow spheres, beads or nanotubes of any suitable material, preferably glass, organic materials, ceramics, plastics and/or carbon, wherein the amount of such additives in the composi tion typically is in the range of 0.1 to 80% by weight, based on the weight of the total composition, preferably in the range of 0.1 to 60 % by weight, more preferred 0.1 to 50 % by weight. The aforementioned amounts of the essential binder and hydrophilic powder and/or gel components of the present inven tion will then be adapted accordingly.

A composition of the invention may thus comprise:

0.1 to 50% by weight of thickener ( s ) , preferably 0.1 to 1

0.0%,

0.1 to 80% by weight of pigment (s), preferably 1.0 to 50%, 0.1 to 80% by weight of additional reinforcing and/or non reinforcing filler (s), preferably 1.0 to 50%,

0.1 to 20% by weight of additional catalyst (s), preferably 0.1 to 5.0%,

0.1 to 50% by weight of flame retardant ( s ) , preferably 1.0 to 10.0,

additional water or solvent, 0.1 to 20% by weight of foam stabilizer (s) , preferably 0.1 to 5.0%, and/or

0.1 to 60% by weight of additional insulating filler (s), preferably 0.1 to 20.0%,

the weight% being based on the total weight of the compo sition.

The additional insulating filler comprises hollow spheres, beads or nanotubes of any suitable material, preferably glass, organic materials, ceramics, plastics and/or carbon.

The composition of the present invention may be liquid or sol id.

The other inorganic or organic binder systems which may be blended with the silicon-based binders of the present inven tion may be waterborne systems, solvent borne systems, solventless systems or dispersion/emulsion systems. Suitable solvents may be selected from xylene, methoxy propyl acetate (PMA) , dibasic esters (DBE) such as esters of adipic acid, glutaric acid, and succinic acid, alcohols, such as ethanol, and fluids such as Si-based fluids. The silicone based fluid may for example be a trimethylsilyl terminated polydimethylsiloxanes having a viscosity at 25°C of from 100 to 50,00 OmPa . s .

The present invention also provides a composite comprising the composition hydrophilic powder and/or gel and silicon-based binder as defined herein.

Further, the invention provides a method of preparing a compo sition as defined in claim 1 comprising mixing hydrophilic powder and/or gel with a binder com prising a silicon compound as hereinbefore described and

dispersing or emulsifying the mixture.

The present invention also provides the use of the composi tions of the invention as thermally or acoustically insulating material, paints, coatings, foamed articles, formed articles, injected articles, gaskets, sealants, adhesives, marine and piping .

Industries where such insulating compositions can be used with advantage comprise marine, building and construction and transportation including automotive, container and caravan ap plications. There is also provided a method comprising curing a material comprising or consisting of the composition as de scribed above to form a product and using the product for thermal and/or acoustical insulation. As indicated above the thermal and/or acoustical insulation is used in an application selected from the group consisting of paints, coatings, foamed articles, injected articles, gaskets, sealants, adhesives, ma rine and piping. There is also provided a coated substrate ob tained by the application of a material comprising or consist ing of the composition in herein on to said substrate.

There is also provided a product obtained from a material com prising or consisting of the composition as described herein as well as an article comprising or consisting of the product. In the latter case it is particularly preferred if the product is used for thermal and/or acoustic insulation. There is also provided herein a substrate surface coated with a material comprising or consisting of the composition as described above . There is also provided a method of making a substrate thermal ly or acoustically insulating, by applying a coating composi tion consisting of or comprising the composition described herein on to the substrate. The coating composition may be a paint, coating, sealant, adhesive or gasket and the like. There is also provided a method of making an article thermally or acoustically insulating, the method comprising: combining the composition as hereinbefore described in a formulation for making the article then making the article with the formula tion. The article may be a gasket, acoustical tile or the like .

Dependent on the nature of the composition any suitable method of application may be used, for example a coating composition might be applied by mixing, spraying, injection, rolling, dip ping, spinning or knife devices.

The binder composition as hereinbefore described may be used, e.g. applied on to a substrate without additional ingredients. However the binder composition may also be stored as a single part of a multi-part composition. For example if spraying with a spray gun the binder may be provided to the spray gun as one part of a multi-composition which is mixed in a mixing chamber before application on to a substrate.

The present invention also relates to the use of an amorphous, porous hydrophilic silica and/or a hydrophilic silica aerogel as defined herein for reducing the tendency of crack formation in coatings, products and articles made by using a composition as disclosed herein.

The present invention also relates to the use of an amorphous, porous hydrophilic silica and/or a hydrophilic silica aerogel for improving the compatibility with a binder as defined here- in and/or for reducing the tendency of crack formation in coatings, products and articles made by using said binder.

As a result, the insulation properties of said coatings, prod ucts and articles may be improved.

The technical effect related to the reduction in the tendency of forming cracks in coatings, products and articles, i.e., in other words, the better crack resistance, can be determined by applying a film of the coating material in a plastic mold, such as a mold having a diameter of 10 cm, and using an appro priate film thickness, such as 8 mm. The technical effect can then be assessed by observing the number of cracks (by visual inspection) after formation of the film, for example, one week after application of the film and storage at standard condi tions, i.e., ambient temperature (20°C) and ambient (atmos pheric) pressure and acceptable humidity, such as 40 to 60% in air .

Further aspects of the present invention are disclosed in the following paragraphs. The references to numbered paragraphs relate to the paragraphs in the following section.

Paragraph 1. A composition comprising a binder comprising one or more siloxane polymers, silicone resins, silicone based elastomers, and mixtures thereof, wherein said binder option ally comprises one or more cross-linker components comprising a silane and/or a siloxane containing silicon-bonded hydrolys- able groups; and a hydrophilic powder and/or gel selected from one or more amorphous, porous hydrophilic silica (s) having a thermal conductivity at 20°C and atmospheric pressure of 0.001 to 0.15 W/m-K and a surface area (SBET) of between 200 and 1500m ² /g, one or more hydrophilic aerogel (s) and mixtures thereof . Paragraph 2. The composition of paragraph 1, wherein the hy drophilic amorphous, porous hydrophilic silica has a pore size distribution of from 0.1 to 100 nm.

Paragraph 3. The composition of paragraphs 1 or 2, wherein the hydrophilic aerogel is an inorganic or organic aerogel, in particular silica aerogel, magnesia aerogel, titania aerogel, zirconia aerogel, alumina aerogel, chromia aerogel, tin diox ide aerogel, lithium dioxide aerogel, ceria aerogel and vana dium pentoxide aerogel, and mixtures of any two or more there of, or an aerogel based on organic carbon containing polymers (carbon aerogel) .

Paragraph 4. The composition of any of preceding paragraphs 1 to 3, wherein the binder contains one or more siloxane poly mers and/or silicone resins having at least one but preferably at least two carbinol groups (C-OH) or silanol groups (Si-OH) or Si-hydrolysable groups or a mixture thereof.

Paragraph 5. The composition of paragraph 4, wherein the siloxane polymer and/or a silicone resin comprises two or more silanol groups and/or Si-hydrolysable reactive groups the binder concerned is condensation curable and additionally com prises a cross-linking compound, a condensation cure catalyst and optionally reinforcing filler or non-reinforcing filler.

Paragraph 6. The composition of paragraph 1, 2 or 3, wherein the binder contains one or more siloxane polymers and/or sili cone resins having at least one, preferably at least two alkenyl groups (Si-alkenyl) and/or silicon bonded hydrogens (Si-H) .

Paragraph 7. The composition of paragraph 6, wherein the bind er the siloxane polymer and/or a silicone resin comprises two or more having at least one but preferably at least two alkenyl groups (Si-alkenyl) and/or silicon bonded hydrogen the binder concerned is addition curable and additionally compris es a cross-linking compound, a Pt group cure catalyst option ally reinforcing filler or non-reinforcing filler.

Paragraph 8. The composition of any of preceding paragraphs 1 to 7, wherein the binder is a) a solution, in particular in water, organic solvent or a non-reactive silicone or siloxane fluid, wherein the solution optionally contains a surfactant, b) an emulsion, in particular in water, optionally containing a surfactant, or c) a dispersion, in particular in water or organic solvent or a non-reactive silicone or siloxane fluid, optionally containing a surfactant.

Paragraph 9. The composition of paragraph 8, wherein the solu tion, dispersion or emulsion type binder contains 15.0 to 90.0% by weight of dissolving/dispersing/emulsifying liquid, based on the total weight of the binder, preferably 30.0 to 60.0% by weight .

Paragraph 10. The composition of any of preceding paragraphs 1 to 9, wherein the binder comprises a silicone based elastomer.

Paragraph 11. The composition of any of preceding paragraphs 1 to 10, wherein the binder further comprises additional inor ganic or organic components, in particular epoxy resins, ami no-group containing components, carboxylic acids, isocyanates, specifically organic amines, organic epoxy resins, organic isocyanates, organic carboxylic acids, organic acetals, organ ic anhydrides, organic aldehydes, polyolefins, thermoset and/or thermoplastic components suitable for use as binders and/or hardeners.

Paragraph 12. The composition of paragraph 11, wherein the composition is blended with inorganic or organic binder sys- terns, in particular waterborne systems, solvent borne systems, solventless systems or emulsion systems, solid state binder systems, in particular powder and pellet binder systems.

Paragraph 13. The composition of any of preceding paragraphs 1 to 12, wherein the composition comprises 1.0 to 80.0% by weight of the hydrophilic powder and/or gel and 20.0 to 99.0% by weight of the binder, preferably 1.0 to 20.0% by weight of the hydrophilic powder and/or gel and 80.0 to 99.0% by weight of the binder, more preferred 5.0 to 10.0% by weight of the hydrophilic powder and/or gel and 90.0 to 95.0% by weight of the binder.

Paragraph 14. The composition of any of preceding paragraphs 1 to 13, wherein the hydrophilic powder and/or gel comprises ag gregate and/or agglomerate particles having an average size from 0.5 ym to 3000 ym, as determined by way of laser light scattering (ASTM D4464-15).

Paragraph 15. The composition of any of preceding paragraphs 1 to 14, wherein the hydrophilic powder and/or gel is an amor phous, porous hydrophilic silica and/or a hydrophilic silica aerogel having a density of 0.02 to 0.2 g/cm ³ , and/or a BET surface area from 100 m ² /g to 1500 m ² /g or greater, preferably in the range of 200 to 1000 m ² /g, and/or a thermal conductivity from 0.004 to 0.05 W/mK at atmospheric pressure and/or a pore size distribution of 1 to 75 nm.

Paragraph 16. The composition of any of paragraphs 1 to 15, wherein the composition also comprises one or more additives selected from thickeners, pigments, additional catalysts, ad ditional reinforcing and/or non-reinforcing filler (s), flame retardants, additional water or solvent, foam stabilizers, and/or any other additional insulating fillers, wherein the insulating fillers preferably comprise hollow spheres, beads or nanotubes of any suitable material, preferably glass, or ganic materials, ceramics, plastics and/or carbon, wherein the amount of such additives in the composition typically is in the range of 0.1 to 80% by weight, based on the weight of the total composition, preferably in the range of 0.1 to 60% by weight, more preferred 0.1 to 50% by weight.

Paragraph 17. Use of a composition in accordance with any of paragraphs 1 to 16 as or in thermally or acoustically insulat ing material, paints, coatings, foamed articles, formed arti cles, injected articles, gaskets, sealants, adhesives, marine and piping.

Paragraph 18. A coated substrate obtained by the application of a material comprising or consisting of the composition in accordance with any one of paragraphs 1 to 16 on to said sub strate .

Paragraph 19. A product obtained from a material comprising or consisting of the composition in accordance with any one of paragraphs 1 to 16.

Paragraph 20. An article comprising or consisting of the prod uct in accordance with paragraph 19.

Paragraph 21. A substrate surface coated with a material com prising or consisting of the composition in accordance with any one of paragraphs 1 to 16.

The following examples illustrate the present invention.

Examples

The materials used in the examples are as follows: Film-forming material:

DOWSIL™ 8005 Waterborne Resin: A waterborne elastomeric siloxane emulsion obtained from Dow Corning Corporation Mid land, MI, USA.

WORLEECRYL ^® CH-X 2158: an aqueous acrylic binder obtained from Worlee GmbH, Lauenburg, Germany.

DOWSIL™2405 Resin: A methoxy functional DT type silicone resin having a viscosity of 300mPa.s at 25°C obtained from Dow Corn ing ^® , Midland, MI, USA.

XIAMETER ^® RBL-1551 Part A: Base Part of a 2-part addition cured Liquid silicone rubber composition obtained from Dow Corning Corporation Midland, MI, USA.

XIAMETER ^® RBL-1551 Part B: Cure Package of a 2-part addition cured Liquid silicone rubber Catalyst obtained from Dow Corn ing Corporation, Midland, MI, USA

DOWSIL™ RSN-0804 Resin: a -OH functional silicone resin ob tained from Dow Corning Corporation, Midland, MI, USA.

EPICOTE ^® 828: an unmodified bisphenol A-epichlorohydrin epoxy resin obtained from Hexion Inc., Columbus, OH, US

WORLEECURE ^® VP 2246: a low viscosity, high performance cycloal iphatic amine polymer obtained from Worlee GmbH, Lauenburg, Germany

DOWSIL™ 3055 Resin: An amine functional silicone resin ob tained from Dow Corning Corporation, Midland, MI, USA Insulative filler:

QUARTZENE Zl: an amorphous, porous hydrophilic silica powder commercially available from Svenska Aerogel AB, Gavle, Sweden having properties within the scope of the amorphous, porous hydrophilic silica as described herein. Specifically, the ma terial (CAS No. 112926-00-9), as characterized in its Product Data Sheet of 20 October 2016, has a tapped density at 20°C and P _atm of 0.06 to 0.10 g/ml; a thermal conductivity at 20°C and P _atm of 0.025 to 0.03 W/m K; is stable up to about 900 °C, has a surface area (BET) of 200 to 350 m ² /g; a particle size distribution of 1 to 40 pm, with d(10) of about 2 pm, d(50) of about 4 to 6 ym and d(90) of about 10 to 14 ym; a pore size distribution of about 1 to 50 nm; and a porosity of about 95 to 97%.

ENOVA ^® IC3120: an hydrophobic silica aerogel obtained from Cab ot Corp., Boston, MA, US

3M™ Microsphere Glass Bubbles K Series K20: glass microspheres obtained from 3M St Paul, MI, US

Thickener :

ROHAGIT SD 15: a polyacrylate based thickener obtained from Synthomer Essex, UK

Catalyst :

Titanium n-butoxide (TnBT) obtained from Dorf Ketal Specialty Catalysts LLC, Houston, TX, US

Preparation

In the following examples the compositions were prepared as follows : Unless indicated otherwise, the ingredients of each example were combined and mixed by pouring the solid ingredients (e.g. aerogels) into the liquid phase and then were mixed in a Ban bury mixer from CW Brabender Instruments Inc., NJ, USA at 500 rpm for up to 20 minutes.

Example 1

This is an example of the present invention and is made from a silicone in water based emulsion binder to which hydrophilic powder and/or gel and thickener have been introduced.

Example 2 (Comparative)

This example is a comparative to example 1 and is made from a silicone in water based emulsion binder to which hydrophobic aerogel and thickener have been introduced.

Example 3 (Comparative)

This example is a comparative to example 1 and is made from a silicone in water based emulsion binder to which a glass bead filler material (non-aerogel) and thickener were introduced.

Example 4 (Comparative)

This example is a comparative to example 1 and is made from an aqueous, organic acrylic based binder to which a hydrophobic aerogel filler material and thickener were introduced

Example 5 (Comparative)

This example is a comparative to example 1 and is made from an aqueous, organic acrylic based emulsion binder to which a hy drophilic powder and/or gel filler material and thickener were introduced

Example 6

This is an example of the present invention and is made from an alkoxy terminated silicone resin solventless binder to which hydrophilic powder and/or gel and a titanate catalyst were introduced

Example 7

This is an example of the present invention and is made from a two part addition cure silicone composition binder to which hydrophilic powder and/or gel was introduced

Example 8 (Comparative)

This is a comparative example containing an epoxy resin to which hydrophilic powder and/or gel and a cycloaliphatic amine polymer were introduced.

Example 9 (Comparative)

This is a comparative example containing the same resin and polymer as Example 8 but containing a hydrophobic aerogel filler material instead of the amorphous porous hydrophilic silica .

Example 10

This is a hybrid example of the present invention containing an epoxy resin to which amorphous, porous hydrophilic silica, a cycloaliphatic amine polymer and a silicone resin were in troduced .

The formulations according to the above Examples and compara tive formulations were tested for relevant properties.

Miscibility

The miscibility of the ingredients in each example was visual ly assessed to determine the quality of the blending of the ingredients by the Banbury mixer i.e. the miscibility of the binder with the other ingredient ( s ) using the following indi cators, whereby: - - = not miscible

+ = miscible and viscosity remains stable for a period of from 3 to 7 days

++ = miscible and viscosity remains stable for at least 3 months

Film Integrity

Films of each example, of approximately 4mm thickness, were applied onto Q-Lab R-46 cold rolled steel (Westlake, Ohio USA) substrates and were left to dry/cure. After 3 days of dry ing/curing at ambient temperature the film appearance was vis ually assessed;

= strong cracking (> mm cracks)

= cracking (0.1 to 1.0 mm cracks)

++ = no cracking

Insulative Properties

The thermal conductivity of the Insulative fillers which, it was found were indicative of the thermal conductivity of the films themselves are provided. These values are taken from the current datasheets of the respective fillers at the time of drafting this document. It is understood that such measure ments are determined using ASTM E1225-13.

Limit of Film Thermal Stability (°C)

Samples of each example composition were applied as 4mm films onto Q-Lab R-46 cold rolled steel (Westlake, Ohio USA) sub strates. The films were left to cure/dry on the substrate sur faces for a period of 24 hours. Subsequent to the cur ing/drying period, coated substrates were placed onto a fixed temperature hotplate type PZ 28-3TD from Harry Gestigkeit GMBH, Dusseldorf, GER for a period of 8 hours to determine whether or not the films remained thermally stable during said 8 hour period. The hotplates first measured samples at 120°C. Replacement samples were then measured at 20°C intervals up to 300°C and the limit of Film Thermal Stability of films was not ed when discoloration, delamination and/or cracks were visible after the 8 hour period.

The results determined are provided in the Results Table be low .

Results Table

N.A. = not analyzed as no film was able to be applied nor evaluated (gelling) It was found that silicone compositions generally gave the best miscibility and film integrity results. However, some or ganic based systems provided similar results for miscibility and film integrity but were significantly inferior in respect to thermal stability.

As mentioned, the compositions of the present invention can be used for production of paints, coatings, including safe touch coatings, foamed articles, pipes, storage tanks, injected ar ticles, gaskets, sealants, adhesives, marine and piping appli cations .

They provide thermally, acoustically insulating or barrier properties .

The compositions may be in solid, powder form or in liquid form.

As applicable they may be applied using mixing, spraying, rolling, dipping, spinning or knife devices. The applied coat ings can dry at room or elevated temperature.

Industries where such insulating compositions can be used with advantage comprise marine, building and construction and transportation including automotive, container and caravan ap plications .