KEY POINTS
- Kitasato University and Fuji Polymer developed an encapsulated iron catalyst for silicone curing.
- The catalyst maintained performance for more than one year at room temperature in air.
- Fuji Polymer has begun sample shipments of silicone thermal interface materials using the technology.
Kitasato University and Fuji Polymer Industries have developed a silicone resin encapsulation technology that sharply improves the air resistance of iron catalysts used for silicone curing, potentially supporting mass production with a lower-cost alternative to platinum, according to a release issued Tuesday.
The partners also verified the use of the encapsulated iron catalyst in producing silicone thermal interface materials, or TIMs. They demonstrated production under the same equipment and operating environment currently used for platinum catalysts, and Fuji Polymer has begun offering samples of the newly developed TIM.
The development was carried out under a program of Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, or NEDO, which supports young researchers through industry-academia collaboration. The release described the technology as the first in the world to achieve both curing suitability and long-term storage stability for an iron catalyst used in silicone curing.
An iron catalyst for silicone curing that went on sale in January lost catalytic performance after more than 30 minutes of air exposure because of decomposition. By encapsulating the catalyst with silicone resin, the research team improved air resistance by more than 10,000 times and showed that the catalyst could maintain high performance for more than one year at room temperature in air.
Tests in silicone TIM production yielded material with performance comparable to TIM made using platinum catalysts. The partners also confirmed that switching from platinum to iron would not require new capital investment in manufacturing equipment.
Silicone materials cured with platinum catalysts are widely used in release coatings, silicone rubber products, medical materials and household goods. Silicone-based TIMs are also increasingly used in heat-dissipation applications for electric-vehicle batteries and central processing units, where demand has grown for lower-cost and higher-performance materials.
That has helped drive interest in catalysts based on more abundant metals such as iron. NEDO previously pursued silicon functional chemical process technologies between fiscal 2014 and 2021, including work on iron catalysts for silicone curing. According to the release, Tokyo Chemical Industry began selling what was described as the world's first iron catalyst suitable for silicone curing on Jan. 21, 2026, under product code B6618.
The catalyst can also be applied to curing silicones containing hetero atoms, materials that have been difficult to manufacture with platinum catalysts. That could broaden its use in higher-function silicone materials, although the latest announcement focused on storage stability and manufacturability rather than commercialization volumes.
For Japan's materials sector, the project aligns with efforts to reduce dependence on rare metals and build more resilient supply chains. NEDO, Kitasato University and Fuji Polymer aim to move the encapsulated catalyst toward practical deployment, and broader adoption could lower manufacturing costs and reduce reliance on rare metals, according to the release.
Originally published on ibtimes.co.jp
