OSHA PEL for #ethyl-silicate is 100 ppm; odor threshold is 3.6 ppm; 700 ppm is immediately dangerous.
on 02015-08-30More details on #ethyl-silicate as a silica-producing binder — apparently you can keep it liquid for quite a while by controlling pH. Suggests using it as a binder in refractories or to bind zinc dust to a surface for a corrosion-resistant coating!
on 02015-08-30Somebody back in the 1960s got a patent on using alkyl silicates related to #ethyl-silicate as a hydraulic fluid. This sounds like a terrible idea but they were actually talking about pretty long chain alkanes with 12 to 40 carbons per silicon, mixed with 1–30% ethylmethylsiloxane to thicken them, and those should be more resistant to the hydrolysis that makes ethyl silicate so dangerous. #patents
on 02015-08-30Tetra-ethoxy silane, or "ethyl silicate" or "tetraethyl orthosilicate", forms silica upon exposure to water. You could use this to 3-D print silica directly by squirting it into water. It’s very hazardous, though, because it forms silica when the vapors get into your eyes. Apparently, in one of the most bizarre features of #toxicology, it’s safe to drink. Methyl silicate also exists but is even more dangerous because it hydrolyzes even faster.
on 02015-08-30