Under the Circular Economy Concept, R&D of Bio-based and Degradable Organosilicon Materials Accelerates
Amidst the global advocacy for sustainable development and the circular economy, the green transformation of the new chemical materials industry has become inevitable. As an important synthetic material, the organosilicon industry is also actively exploring environmentally friendly technological routes. Among these, the development of bio-based raw material substitution and degradable organosilicon materials has become two major frontier hotspots, aiming to reduce dependence on fossil resources and lower environmental footprints from the source.
Research into bio-based organosilicon primarily focuses on utilizing renewable biomass resources (such as vegetable oils, sugars, lignin, etc.) to synthesize organosilicon monomers or modifiers. By introducing bio-based molecular segments into the traditional polysiloxane backbone, it is possible to partially replace petroleum-based raw materials and impart new properties to the material, such as improved compatibility with natural materials and adjusted surface characteristics. Although bio-based content and cost remain the main challenges for industrialization, significant progress has been made in related research, laying a foundation for the future large-scale production of green organosilicon.
On the other hand, to address potential microplastic pollution issues in specific application scenarios (such as personal care and agriculture), developing controllably degradable organosilicon materials has become another important direction. Researchers are working on designing novel siloxane backbone structures or introducing easily hydrolyzable chemical bonds, enabling them to undergo controlled cleavage under specific environmental conditions (e.g., light, microbial action, specific pH), ultimately degrading into environmentally benign small molecules. Although fully degradable general-purpose organosilicon is still in the exploratory stage, these innovative efforts demonstrate the industry's commitment to environmental protection and provide forward-looking technical reserves to meet increasingly stringent global chemical management regulations (such as EU REACH).
