Functional silanes have a wide range of applications and the industry has entered a stage of rapid development

Functional silane refers to a small organic silicon molecule with a main chain of -Si-O-C- structure, and its general formula is RnSiX(4-n). Functional silane contains non-hydrolyzable organic components and hydrolyzable groups, which can serve as an interface bridge between inorganic materials and organic materials and participate in the cross-linking reaction of organic polymer materials. Functional silanes, silicone rubber, silicone oil and silicone resin are collectively called the four major categories of silicone materials. As important and widely used additives, there are many types of functional silanes. According to different uses, functional silanes can be divided into silane coupling agents, silane cross-linking agents and other functional silanes.

According to the “2022-2027 Functional Silane Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestions Report released by the Industrial Research Center, currently , the functional silane industry is developing rapidly and production capacity is constantly expanding. In the global market, according to statistics from the Silicon Industry Green Development Alliance, the global functional silane production capacity will reach 897,000 tons in 2021, with an output of 534,000 tons. In the domestic market, my country is the world’s largest producer of functional silane. In 2021, my country’s functional silane production capacity will exceed 550,000 tons, accounting for 61.3% of the world’s total production capacity. Benefiting from government policy support for new materials, my country’s functional silane production capacity will further expand. It is expected that by 2026, my country’s annual functional silane production capacity will exceed 900,000 tons.

Functional silanes are widely used in leather, rubber products, adhesives, textiles, plastic products, composite materials and building waterproofing. Rubber products are the main application field of functional silanes, accounting for 33.1% of the demand. As my country’s car ownership continues to grow, rubber tire production continues to increase. In 2021, my country’s rubber tire casing production will reach 898.912 million units, a year-on-year increase of 11.6%. As an important raw material for rubber tires, functional silanes can effectively reduce tire rolling resistance and improve tire anti-skid performance. Strong market demand will provide a broad market space for functional silanes in my country.

my country’s functional silane market is dominated by silane coupling agents, accounting for nearly 80.0% of my country’s functional silane market. Silane coupling agents can improve the actual bonding strength between polymers and inorganic substances and are often used in glass fiber reinforced plastics. Sulfur-containing silanes, as representatives of silane coupling agents, are the collective name for functional silanes with sulfur as the main functional group. Sulfur-containing silanes can be used as coupling agents, accelerators and vulcanizing agents, which can effectively improve the binding ability of silica fillers and rubber molecules and accelerate rubber vulcanization. In 2021, my country’s sulfur-containing silane production reached 108,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 9.0%.

Industry analysts said that with the rapid development of emerging industries such as new energy vehicles and composite materials in my country, functional silanes have become important industrial raw materials Will gain broad market prospects. In recent years, my country’s functional silanes production capacity has continued to expand, and its application fields such as rubber products, adhesives and coatings have continued to expand. Market demand will drive the rapid development of the industry. Sulfur-containing silanes, as functional silane segmented products, will become the mainstream of the market due to their performance advantages.