Made in Russia: breakthrough casing for a spaceship

As a result of a series of experiments based on silicone, Russian chemists from St. Petersburg State University managed to create a new material that is resistant to high temperatures and can become one of the important parts of the lining of satellites and spacecraft.




According to Mikhail Kinzhalov, who is one of the university’s chemists, the scientists managed to increase the thermal stability of the silicone coating to 320 degrees Celsius. This is 120 degrees higher than the heat resistance of previous samples. This result was achieved by developing a fundamentally new composition of catalysts based on iridium complexes.

The main disadvantage of silicone materials is their poor resistance to heat. Even a little heat destroys these materials and makes their scope very limited. Russian chemists managed to eliminate this shortcoming. The fact is that platinum-based catalysts are used to harden the starting silicones.

Chemists from St. Petersburg have created an iridium-based catalyst that allows you to get a “super silicone” that can withstand very high temperatures and loads, and this will allow it to be used in space technology.

Used photos: http://www.vladtime.ru