Binbin Luo

Binbin joined Dow in 2020 as a project/platform leader working on the technical development of silicone pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs). He has a BSc in material chemistry from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and a PhD in materials science and engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Presentation

Silicone-organic hybrid materials for unlocking design creativity

LuxSense silicone leather is the first synthetic leather (PU, PVC or silicone) that competes with natural leather on performance and exceeds it on sustainability. A multi-layer composite, LuxSense is designed to unlock design creativity and can be used on existing processing equipment. Several technical challenges were overcome using fundamental science to understand the underlying mechanisms and create a comprehensive yet elegant solution via chemistry. Key to this are silicone-organic hybrid materials that combine the advantages of silicones (aesthetics, flame, stain, chemical and UV resistance, durability) with those of organics (outstanding abrasion resistance) in a cost-effective, sustainable (lower VOC, free of plasticizer, DMF and harmful solvents) system. As a result, LuxSense has become the world’s first silicone luxury leather approved and commercialized in automotive interiors. It meets automotive interior specifications, including car seating applications, and exhibits the unique features of 4S: sense of sight, smell, sensation and sustainability.