World's First Encapsulation Technology Developed to Dramatically Improve Air Resistance of Iron Catalysts for Silicone Curing

Press Release Information Title: World's First Encapsulation Technology Developed to Dramatically Improve Air Resistance of Iron Catalysts for Silicone Curing Subtitle: Company Name: Industry: Body (first 8000 characters): As part of NEDO's "Public-Private R&D Investment Strategic Expansion Program for Young Researchers" (hereinafter "Wakasapo"), a research group led by Lecturer Masahiro Kamiya of Kitazato University and Fuji Polymer Industry Co., Ltd. have developed a technology that dramatically improves the air resistance of iron catalysts for silicone curing by encapsulating them with silicone resin (encapsulated iron catalyst).

Furthermore, technical verification was conducted to apply the developed encapsulated iron catalyst to the manufacturing of silicone TIM (Thermal Interface Material), demonstrating its mass production capability under conventional manufacturing equipment and production environments used for platinum catalysts. Fuji Polymer Industry will begin providing samples of the developed TIM.

The development of an iron catalyst that simultaneously satisfies curing suitability and long-term storage stability is a world first, and is expected to promote the widespread use of silicone manufacturing with iron catalysts. This aims to reduce dependence on rare metals and contribute to the establishment of a sustainable and stable industrial foundation for silicone products.

Figure 1 Silicone TIM manufactured with encapsulated iron catalyst

1. Background

The manufacturing method for cured silicone materials using platinum, a rare metal, as a catalyst is widely used for release coatings and silicone rubber products, ranging from industrial applications to medical materials and household items such such as cooking utensils. In particular, in recent years, silicone-based TIMs have been utilized in the fields of electric vehicle batteries and CPU heat dissipation materials. To meet the demands for lower product costs and further enhanced functionality, research and development is actively being pursued to utilize inexpensive and abundant resources such as iron as catalysts. To meet these industrial demands, NEDO has been promoting the development of organic silicon functional chemical product manufacturing process technology from FY2014 to FY2021 (project *1), and as part of this, has been working on the development of iron catalysts for silicone curing. In January 2026, the developed iron catalyst was released for sale by Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. as the "world's first catalyst suitable for silicone curing" (*2). This iron catalyst can also be applied to the manufacturing of components containing heteroatoms (*3), which are difficult to produce with platinum catalysts, and is therefore expected to be used for the development of new, higher-performance materials. On the other hand, the aforementioned iron catalyst has issues with long-term storage stability suitable for actual environments and mass production scale, which has been a barrier to the widespread use of silicone products using iron catalysts.

Against this background, Kitazato University has participated in the NEDO Wakasapo *4 Matching Support Phase since FY2022, and since FY2024, has been collaborating with Fuji Polymer Industry in the joint research phase to conduct demonstration experiments in actual environments and develop silicone material manufacturing technology suitable for practical application.

2. Achieved Results

(1) Development of Encapsulated Iron Catalyst

While the iron catalyst for silicone curing, which has been on sale since January 2026, can be used for short-term weighing and curing verification, it decomposes and loses its catalytic performance (silicone manufacturing capability) if exposed to air for more than 30 minutes (Figure 2, left). In response, we have succeeded in developing a technology (encapsulated iron catalyst) that dramatically improves air resistance (by more than 10,000 times) by encapsulating it with silicone resin. We have also demonstrated that the developed encapsulated iron catalyst maintains high catalytic performance without decomposing for more than one year in air at room temperature. This marks the world's first development (*5) of an iron catalyst with the long-term storage stability essential for mass production in actual environments.

Figure 2 Changes during long-term air exposure: Iron catalyst (left) and encapsulated iron catalyst (right)

(2) Demonstration of Mass Production Suitability in Silicone TIM Manufacturing

By using the developed encapsulated iron catalyst, we verified its suitability for mass production in TIM manufacturing under the same equipment and environmental conditions as conventional platinum catalysts, and obtained TIMs with performance equivalent to those using platinum. Through this verification, we confirmed that no new capital investment is required to switch from platinum catalysts to iron catalysts. Furthermore, the widespread adoption and practical application of encapsulated iron catalysts are expected to reduce the related industries' dependence on rare metals and lower manufacturing costs.

Figure 3 Process demonstrating mass production suitability in silicone TIM manufacturing

3. Future Plans

NEDO, Kitazato University, and Fuji Polymer Industry aim for the social implementation of the newly developed encapsulated iron catalyst. As the first step, Fuji Polymer Industry will begin providing samples of the developed TIM. Kitazato University and Fuji Polymer Industry will continue to collaborate, advancing demonstration experiments using the encapsulated iron catalyst and its commercialization, thereby contributing to reducing the silicone industry's reliance on rare metals and establishing a sustainable and stable industrial foundation.

[Notes]

*1 Project from FY2014 to FY2021

Project name: Development of Organic Silicon Functional Chemical Product Manufacturing Process Technology

Project period: FY2014 - FY2021

Project overview: Organic Silicon Functional Chemical Product Manufacturing Process Keywords: