Childs Play The Chemistry of Silly Putty

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Childs Play The Chemistry of Silly Putty
Phil Cerami CHEM 013HDr. Paul Weiss 17 April
2005
Lab Silly Putty Borax Elmers Glue
Real Silly Putty Boric Acid Silicone Oil

• Elmers Glue Polyvinyl Acetate Long,
  individual polymer chains (why glue is generally
  a liquid and can flow)
• Borax (Na2B4O7 10H2O) B-OH groups on molecules
  act as a binding agent (OH replaces acetate)
  links two glue molecules by B-OH acting as a
  polymer cross-link.
• NOT Silly Putty in Store! (Has water molecules
  which dry up the putty)

• Dilitant Compound Viscosity not determined
  solely by temperature (Newtons Law of Fluid
  Friction)
• Its state of matter is a non-Newtonian liquid.
• Older newspapers used inks made of mineral oil
  and carbon black pigments, which was transferred
  to the excess silicone oil.
• Hydrogen bonding determines its unique
  properties.
• Inverse thixotropy more like a solid w/ pressure

(Silicone Oil polymer) The arrow represents
where the boric acid attaches and cross-links the
oil.

• SOURCES
• Silicones. F.O. Stark, J.R. Falender, A.P.
  Wright. In Comprehensive Organometallic
  Chemistry, 2. 1982. (305)
• Chemistry in the Toy Store. David A. Katz.
  Yearbook of Science. 1988.
• ChemDemo Laboratories and explanations. Patrick
  Limbach and George Stanley. 1997. (6-9)