Difference Between Caulk and Silicone

Thekey differencebetween caulk and silicone is thatwe use caulk specifically for sealing joints whereas silicone is useful in many different areas including sealants, adhesives, lubricants, medicine, etc.

填缝剂和硅酮都可以作为密封剂。填缝的应用是我们所谓的“填缝”。此外，我们可以使用不同的材料进行填缝。另一方面，除了将其用作密封剂外，有机硅还具有许多应用。这是一个基于硅酮的polymer.

内容

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

What is Caulk?

Caulk is a material that we use as a sealant to seal the joints against leakage in various structures. Hence, when considering the use of this material, we can divide it into two parts as traditional applications and modern applications.

Traditional Applications

In traditional applications, caulking uses fibres ofcotton和Oakum（大麻纤维浸泡在松焦油中）。这种填缝对木制容器非常有用。我们可以将此材料填充到木板之间的接缝中（楔形）。人们用填缝槌和填缝铁来做到这一点。然后，我们必须用腻子或融化的松螺纹覆盖填缝。我们将此过程称为Calefaction。

现代应用

Modern uses of caulk are mainly in closing up joints in constructed structures. This can help the structures with thermal insulation, control of water penetration and it also reduces noise transmission. Also, the compounds that we can use as caulk material includes silicone, polyurethane, silyl-terminated-polyether or polyurethane and acrylic sealant.

What is Silicone?

Silicone is an inorganic material that we use as sealants, adhesives, lubricants, medicine, etc. We call it as多硅氧烷as well. It is the chemical name of this compound. Also, these are polymer materials that consist of repeating units of siloxanes. Typically, silicone is heat resistant and is a rubbery material. However, sometimes, we can find it in its liquid form as well, depending on the intended application. It is a good thermal and electrical insulator. Common compounds that we use in day to day life include silicone oil, silicone grease, silicone rubber, silicone resin, and silicone caulk.

这种化合物可以制成水密密封。但是，它具有高气体渗透性。这意味着，氧气（例如氧气）高度渗透，这使其在需要更多曝气的医疗应用中有用。我们可以在汽车场中使用硅树脂作为硅油油脂，以充当制动器的润滑剂。它在涂料中也很有用。提供具有防水能力的表面。由于有机硅是无毒的和低剂的，因此我们可以使用这种化合物，需要在其中制造与食物接触的工具。液体有机硅可作为干洗溶剂可用。此外，它具有对微生物攻击的抵抗力，它为该材料提供了长期的保质期。

What is the Difference Between Caulk and Silicone?

Although both caulk and silicone are useful as sealant materials, silicone has many more applications. Hence, the key difference between caulk and silicone is that we use caulk specifically for sealing joints whereas silicone is useful in many different areas including sealants, adhesives, lubricants, medicine, etc. Moreover, based on the type of material, the difference between caulk and silicone is that the caulk can be silicone, polyurethane, silyl-terminated-polyether or polyurethane and acrylic sealant while silicone is polysiloxane.

概括– Caulk vs Silicone

填缝和硅胶是密封剂化合物。但是还有许多其他硅酮应用。因此，填缝和有机硅之间的关键区别在于，我们专门用于密封接头，而硅酮在许多不同的区域都有用，包括密封剂，粘合剂，润滑剂，药物等。

Reference:

1. “Caulking.” Department of Energy.Available here
2. “Silicone.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Sept. 2018.Available here

Image Courtesy:

1.”Caulking, USAF” (Public Domain) viaCommons Wikimedia
2.”Silicone mold”By Pfehrman – Own work(CC BY-SA 3.0)viaCommons Wikimedia