Published By: Gurpreet Kaur

All about 'Father of Silicones' - Dr. James Franklin Hyde

He is credited with the launch of the silicone industry

For those of you who do not know, James Franklin Hyde is considered to be the “Father of Silicones” as he was the one to launch the silicone industry in the 1930’s apart from designing the Chemical Elements Periodic Table. Hyde also carried out the first successful research which led to the commercial production of silicones. Hence, he was not only a leader in fundamental but also a practical researcher in the field of organosilicon

How did he become the Father of Silicones”?

Born in Solvay, New York in 1903, Hyde did his B.A. and M.A. degrees at Syracuse University before getting his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of Illinois. He also received a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University and he did that under Dr. James Bryant Conant. Later, he also got his honorary Doctor of Science degree from Syracuse University.

It was in 1931 that Hyde turned out to be the first organic chemist employed by Corning Glass Works. He was hired to assess what can be done by the glass industry to overcome the challenges posed by transparent plastics, which newly came into being. During his assignment, he ended up reviewing the early works of Ladenburg and Kipping in hybridising silicon, which led to his invention of the organosilicon resin in order to substitute the organic varnishes in the electrical industry. Eventually, he ended up leading the way to several other useful products with not so known physical properties.

How did he invent Silicone?

Just before World War II, the serviceability and range of ships and planes was made better with the use of silicone resins, rubbers, greases, and fluids. Hence, they played a vital role in the design of space-age equipment. So Hyde’s most important creation turned out to be silicone from silicon compounds. Not just that he made fused silica as well, which is a high-quality glass later used in aeronautics.

In fact, it was due to his work that the Dow Corning Corporation came into being. It was an alliance between the Dow Chemical Corporation and Corning Glass Works, and was made to produce silicone products. He started out at the Dow Corning as a research chemist but retired as a senior research scientist for basic organosilicon chemistry in 1973.

Lastly, he was the one to set the stone for silicone high polymer production and his invention of silicone rubber that would vulcanise at room temperature now has diverse applications.