What is Silicone Leather?

What is Silicone Leather?

With more and more people interested in silicone leather, here I am writing an article to demonstrate what is silicone leather and how it is produced. Silicone leather is a newest kind of faux leather which is gaining more and more popularity, different from PU or PVC leather which largely rely on petrol, silicone leather is a completely eco-friendly, sustainable silicone-coated synthetic leather. Due to its inherent properties, silicone leather has been widely used in medical, marine, indoor&outdoor upholstery, automotive interiors, electronics consumer etc.

How is the Silicone Leather produced?

Silicone leather is one type of 100% silicone coated faux leather which is water-free, solvent-free during the production, it is composed of substrate layer and silicone layers.

Substrate layer: except for normal polyester, silicone leather can be sticked with various kinds of substrate material including cotton, cloth, knitting, PET, glass fibers etc, the thickness of the substrate layer generally ranges from 0.2mm to 0.8mm. 

Silicone layers: in general, silicone leather has 3 silicone layers, including the functional layers and tactile layer,  in some special cases like our newest transluscent faux leather which is designed for automotive interiors, it even has more than 7 layers so that we can see the beautiful images when it meets the lights.

What are the silicone leather's properties?

Water-Hydrolysis: compared to PU leather, silicone leather has completely liberated from the water constraint, testings show that even soaking in 100℃ boiling water for a long time, silicone leather can be brand-new after getting it dry. 

Ultra-low VOC: silicone leather has very ultra-low VOC which is as low as 0.269/m³, free from formaldehyde, heavy metal materials etc, silicone leather is a very healthy synthetic leather to our bodies which is many people care about especially when they have children and Pets.

Odorless: Silicone Leather has nearly no odor, even in a confined small space or a new home decorated by our silicone wallcoverings or silicone leather sofa, we smell good.

High-Low temperature resistance:  People can be easily overwhelmed by the astonishing performances that silicone leather can withstand high-low temperature from -30℃ to 220℃, even in very cold situations, silicone leather remain the softness.

Durability：Prior to silicone leather, silicone has been used in various scenarios, silicone tableware can be used for long time without damage, silicone pacifier remains the same after the babies' thousands of bites, and silicone has been used in automotive cars because of the durability. Now silicone leather will be very suitable for the customers who cares about the durability, we believe that our silicone leather can last as long as more than 10 years.

Color-Fastness: silicone leather can easily reach Grade 4-5 when testing according to AATCC regulations.

Inherent flame resistance: silicone due to its main component Si-O bond has much higher bond energy than C-C bond , it means silicone can resist high temperature but not breaking down. When it is exposed to open fire, it doesn't rapidly ignite and drip like plastic, instead, it typically undergoes slow charring and forms white silicon dioxide ash. This layer of ash itself provides certain heat insulation and oxygen barrier effects, which to some extend avoids the fire spreading.

Silicone Leather Applications:

Yachts: Marine is always regarded as the most complicated environment for faux leather, when we make a small comparison between silicone leather and other convential leather, it seems that silicone leather is born for yachts, thanks to its inherent corrosion-resistance ability & water-hydrolysis resistance & high-low temperature resistance etc, silicone leather is becoming the best option for the yachts and boats manufacturers.

Medical Equipments: Speaking of medical equipments (medical chairs, beds, operating beds, dental chairs etc), there are two important factors which always have been taken into consideration. Firstly, biocompatibility, as earlier we put it, silicone is Si-C bond not C-C bond, which means there is no environmental space for viruses to live, Timwell has gotten related reports including vitro cytotoxicity & Skin Sensitization & Skin Irritation, Secondly, easy to clean should be thought over too, silicone leather can be disinfected by alcohol but no damage on the surface, which makes it the best option for Medical Equipments.

Furnitures: Ultra-low VOC, no odor, abrasion-resistance etc, imagine now, we move into one new house, we have our beloved family members around(parents, wife or husband, little children even our pets), we wanna give them healthy home environment, the sofa/bed/table/bedside table etc using silicone leather will be definitely a good option.

Automotive Interiors: For Automotive Interiors, silicone leather is not an old story compared to PU/PVC leather, but it has a lot of potential because of its great performance of abrasion-resistance, ultra-low VOC etc.

Electronics Consumer: High temperature resistance and abrasion-resistance are the most important factors among the electronics consumer customers. Due to high temperature resistance,silicone can be attached with different material backings including PC/PET/Glass Fiber etc, silicone leather has been used in world-renowned mobile phones brands such as Xiaomi,Transsion, Motorola etc.

About Timwell

Founded in 2017, backed by more than 20 years of experiences in silicone, Timwell is the pioneer manufacturer of silicone leather in China. As timwell's slogan says"Time brings good/well", Timwell is always committed to being not only the silicone leather producer, but also a one-stop silicone leather services provider from material through finished products. Blending aesthetics with functionality is always our persistent persuit.