Difference Between Organosilicon and Silicone

The key difference between organosilicon and silicone is that organosilicon is an organic compound, whereas silicone is an inorganic compound.

Both organosilicon and silicone are silicon-containing compounds. Organosilicon is an important component in sealants and many other products while silicone is used directly as a sealant.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Organosilicon
3. What is Silicone
4. Side by Side Comparison – Organosilicon vs Silicone in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is Organosilicon?

Organosilicon is an organometallic compound containing silicone-carbon bonds. Therefore, we categorize it as an organic compound. Moreover, these compounds show the properties of ordinary organic compounds, such as flammability, hydrophobicity and colourless appearance. It is also stable in normal air.

These compounds are important components in many consumer products such as sealants, caulk, adhesives, etc. We can produce this compound via “direct method”, from organosilicon chlorides. In this method, the reaction between methyl chloride and silicon-copper alloy occurs.

What is Silicone?

Silicone is a sulfur-containing polymer material. Another common name for this material is polysiloxane. It is a synthetic compound. Moreover, it contains repeating units of siloxane. Typically, this material is either a liquid or a rubber-like material and is mainly used as a sealant.

When considering the chemical structure, polysiloxane contains a backbone having silicon and oxygen atoms in an alternating pattern. There are organic side groups attached to this backbone. We can make a wide variety of silicone materials by changing the chain lengths of polymer chains, by crosslinking, etc.

The useful properties of silicone include low thermal conductivity, low toxicity, low chemical reactivity, ability to repel water, and electrical insulation. The applications of this material include sealants, adhesives, lubricants, medicine, cooking utensils, and thermal and electrical insulation.

What is the Difference Between Organosilicon and Silicone?

Organosilicon is an organometallic compound containing silicone-carbon bonds while silicone is a sulfur-containing polymer material. Therefore, the key difference between organosilicon and silicone is that organosilicon is an organic compound, whereas silicone is an inorganic compound. Further, the backbone of organosilicon contains silicon-carbon bonds while silicone contains silicon-oxygen bonds.

The below infographic summarizes the difference between organosilicon and silicone.

Summary – Organosilicon vs Silicone

Organosilicon is an organometallic compound containing silicone-carbon bonds while silicone is a sulfur-containing polymer material. The key difference between organosilicon and silicone is that organosilicon is an organic compound, whereas silicone is an inorganic compound.

Reference:

1. “Softer” Organometallic Reagents.” Organosilicon Chemistry, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “OrganosiliconLogo” By English Wikipedia user V8rik (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “PDMS” By SeiThis W3C-unspecified vector image was created with Inkscape. – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia