Millions of modern products rely - in some way - on silicones for performance and reliability.

For example, silicones give modern personal care products essential qualities which we take for granted today. But they are also found in thousands of industrial applications. In aerospace applications, for instance, silicone products increase the lifespan of vital components, while in railway locomotives they provide tough, long-lasting motor insulation and lubricants for bearings.

Silicones are used as coatings to protect facades and historical monuments and are also used for window and bathroom seals. Silicones are the basis for coolants in transformers, protective encapsulating material for semiconductors in computers and foam-control agents in laundry detergents.

The electronics and telecommunications industries need silicones to produce optical fibres and silicon wafers and chips. Some of their many other uses include adhesion promoters in glues, sealants, pigments, paints, textiles and wire and cables, and as strengthening agents to reinforce rubber.

Click on one of the options in the menu to find out more about silicones in each industry.