Formation of microchannels in thermocured silicone rubber using whiskers of p-aminobenzoic acid

A new method of microchannel formation in silicone rubber cured by heat in the presence of a platinum catalyst was developed using whiskers of p-aminobenzoic acid. Four types of whiskers with lateral dimensions of 10–20, 50–70, 200–300, and 500–600 µm and lengths of 2–3, 5–10, 10–20, and 20–30 mm, respectively, were grown from hot aqueous solutions. A new method for the manufacture of elastic siloxane rubber samples penetrated by open channels with the size corresponding to the size of whiskers is presented. The materials were studied by optical and atomic force microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, gas chromatography—mass spectrometry, and porosimetry.