What is Silica Powder and How is it Used?

Silicon micro powder is made from crystalline quartz, fused silica, and other raw materials, through specialized processing techniques. It undergoes grinding, precise classification, impurity removal, and high-temperature spheroidization. This non-toxic, odorless, and pollution-free silicon dioxide powder has excellent properties. These properties include high heat resistance, high insulation, low linear expansion coefficient, and good thermal conductivity. It is an inorganic non-metallic material with outstanding performance. Silicon micro powder has a complex classification and variety, which can be categorized as follows:

Classification by Production Process

Crystalline Silica Powder:

Crystalline silicon powder is produced and processed from high-grade natural quartz through a unique iron-free grinding process. It is white in color and pure in quality.

Fused Silica Powder:

The process uses high-quality natural quartz to make fused silica micro powder through a unique treatment. It undergoes high-temperature processing, which changes its molecular structure from an ordered arrangement to a disordered one.

Active Silica Powder:

Through its unique process, silane and other materials are used to surface-modify the silicon micro powder particles. This enhances the hydrophobic properties of the silicon micro powder and improves the mechanical and chemical characteristics of the mixtures and filling systems.

Cristobalite Silica Powder:

Cristobalite silica powder is made from high-quality natural quartz and processed using a unique process.

Composite silicon powder:

We produce glass-phase silica powder material from natural quartz and other inorganic non-metallic minerals, such as calcium oxide, boron oxide, and magnesium oxide. Consequently, it undergoes processes like blending, melting, cooling, crushing, grinding, and classification. The material undergoes processes including blending, melting, cooling, crushing, grinding, and classification.

Classification by Morphology

Spherical silica powder:

We select high-quality quartz ore to produce “Spherical” silicon micro powder using a unique process. This results in high-strength, high-hardness, and inert spherical particles. High-quality “Spherical” silicon micro powder has extremely low oil absorption, mixing viscosity, and friction coefficient.

Angular silica powder：

We can classify angular silicon micro powder into angular crystalline silicon micro powder and angular fused silicon micro powder based on the raw materials.

Silica Powder Application:

Copper Clad Laminate

Copper-clad laminate is made by impregnating glass fiber or other reinforcing materials with a resin matrix. We add various fillers and apply copper foil on one or both sides through processes like resin adjustment and impregnation. Finally, the material is hot-pressed to create the electronic substrate. Adding silicon micro powder reduces production costs while improving heat resistance, conductivity, and mechanical properties.

Rubber

Rubber is a highly elastic polymer material with reversible deformation, widely used in electronics, automotive, construction, defense, healthcare, and daily products. During rubber preparation, we add a certain amount of inorganic fillers. This not only reduces production costs but also significantly improves the overall physical and dynamic mechanical properties of the rubber composite material.

Plastic

We use silicon micro powder as a filler in materials like polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), and polyphenylene oxide (PPO) during plastic manufacturing. It finds wide application in fields such as construction, automotive, electronic communication insulation, agriculture, daily products, and defense industries.

Coating

In the coatings industry, the particle size, whiteness, hardness, suspension, dispersibility, low oil absorption, and high resistivity of silicon micro powder enhance the coating’s corrosion resistance, wear resistance, insulation, and high-temperature performance.

Paint

The filler addition amount is crucial for the viscosity of paint. Using spherical silicon micro powder as a functional filler effectively improves paint quality, achieving low shrinkage, low viscosity, high filler content, high wear resistance, and good storage stability.

Epoxy Molding Compound

Manufacturers make epoxy encapsulant by blending various additives. It is a key material in electronic packaging, accounting for over 97% of the microelectronics packaging market. It is widely used in semiconductor, consumer electronics, integrated circuits, aerospace, military, and other packaging fields.

Electrical insulation materials

Electrical insulation materials are composite materials that insulate components from each other and from the ground. Industries widely use them in power transmission, rail transportation, aerospace, wind energy, nuclear energy, and other electrical fields. Silicon micro powder, used as a filler, effectively improves the mechanical and electrical properties of insulation materials. High-purity spherical silicon micro powder is used to produce fiber optic cables and cable insulation filling pastes.

Artificial quartz stone

Silicon micro powder, used as a filler in artificial quartz, reduces unsaturated resin consumption. It also improves the wear resistance, acid-base resistance, and mechanical strength of artificial quartz slabs.

Adhesives

Adhesives bond two or more similar or dissimilar materials together. They play a vital role in daily life and find wide use in footwear, leather, and furniture. Additionally, manufacturers commonly use adhesives in construction materials, household appliances, and wood processing. Furthermore, they are essential in biomedicine.

Ink

Silicon micro powder is an additive that adjusts ink concentration. It increases the ink film thickness and improves wear resistance. However, it has no coloring or hiding power.

Precision Casting

Ultrafine silicon micro powder used in precision casting has an excellent specific surface area, ensuring good fillability. Additionally, it offers excellent thermal shock resistance, effectively extending the service life of cast products.

Cosmetic

Spherical silica is applied in formulations like lipstick, powder, and foundation cream. It provides good dispersibility and compatibility with oil phases. Additionally, it has excellent skin affinity and strong hydrophobicity, which enhances makeup durability.

Building Materials

Silicon micro powder enhances the strength and durability of mortar and concrete. In high-rise buildings, harbors, and dams, it improves structural stability. Moreover, its application boosts the longevity of these structures.

Advanced Ceramics

Silicon micro powder prepares oxide-bonded silicon carbide products, corundum, and ceramic products, which improve their quality and performance. Additionally, it produces raw materials for silicate bricks, providing abundant resources for the ceramics industry’s development.

Fertilizer

Silicon micro powder mixes with potassium hydroxide or potassium carbonate and heats to produce slow-release potassium silicate. This product prevents volatilization, protects soil, and promotes root development. Additionally, it suppresses pests and prevents fertilizer caking.

Anti-adhesive agent, anti-caking agent

Also known as slip agents or opening agents, these additives improve film opening performance. Manufacturers add them to plastic pellets during production. Currently, synthetic silica serves as a common opening agent in films. Moreover, spherical silica delivers even better performance in this application.

Other Applications

Additionally, silicon micro powder plays a key role in epoxy resin casting materials. It also enhances potting compounds and electrode welding rod coatings. Furthermore, it improves insulation casting for electrical components. In addition, it is crucial for high-voltage electrical insulation. Moreover, silicon micro powder is used in APG injection materials and epoxy flooring. It significantly reduces costs and improves the processing performance of mixed materials.

Conclusion

Different application fields for silicon micro powder have varying quality requirements. Therefore, when selecting silicon micro powder, one should consider the needs of downstream industries, taking into account cost, efficiency, and performance. With the continuous development of China’s economy and society, research on silicon micro powder applications will focus on high-tech fields. These include high-end copper-clad laminates, advanced coatings, high-performance adhesives, and insulation materials, mainly using spherical silicon micro powder as raw material. In the future, fine-tuning and specialized functionality will be the main trends in silicon micro powder applications.

Epic Powder

Epic Powder, 20+ years of work experience in the ultrafine powder industry. Actively promote the future development of ultra-fine powder, focusing on crushing,grinding,classifying and modification process of ultra-fine powder.  Contact us for a free consultation and customized solutions! Our expert team is dedicated to providing high-quality products and services to maximize the value of your powder processing. Epic Powder—Your Trusted Powder Processing Expert !