Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I would like to know of some ingredients that can be put together at home to make a shock absorbing gel. I would also like to know of any other ways to make this gel, that I maybe would not be able to make at home. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Hello Joe_Michael42,

Welcome to the forum.

I'm assuming that you're interested in the type of gel material used as padding in running shoes, batting gloves, cycling shorts or other sports apparel. I think that this kind of material is silicone formulation that is not feasible to make at home. But you may be able to purchase gel pads in various shapes and sizes.

One kind of gel that you could make at home is gelatin. The following link shows a procedure for making a fairly dense gelatin.

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Ballistics-Gel

You may be able to vary the consistency by mixing more or less gelatin powder with water.


I hope this helps and good luck with your project. Please ask again if you have more questions.

A. Norman

Another interesting material to investigate may be a non-Newtonian fluid as a shock absorber. The water/cornstarch mixture ("goo" or "slime) that is often made in elementary school classrooms is an example that may have shock absorbing properties.

Audrey

norman40 wrote:Hello Joe_Michael42,

Welcome to the forum.

I'm assuming that you're interested in the type of gel material used as padding in running shoes, batting gloves, cycling shorts or other sports apparel. I think that this kind of material is silicone formulation that is not feasible to make at home. But you may be able to purchase gel pads in various shapes and sizes.

One kind of gel that you could make at home is gelatin. The following link shows a procedure for making a fairly dense gelatin.

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Ballistics-Gel

You may be able to vary the consistency by mixing more or less gelatin powder with water.


I hope this helps and good luck with your project. Please ask again if you have more questions.

A. Norman

Thank you Mr. Norman, I will definitely try the gelatin. However, do you know of any of the ingredients that would be used to make shock absorbing gel, such as the gel that is used in the gel padding of running shoes and batting gloves? For example, the creator of Impact Gel, a company that makes shock absorbing gel for things such as shoe insoles, and iPhone cases, once said in an interview that they mix together 7 ingredients to make their product. I would like to know those ingredients, if possible, to further my research on the subject. Any help would be great. Thank you.

Hi Joe_Michael42,

I'm not very familiar with the ingredients used in manufacturing impact absorbing gels. But I did look into Impact Gel. This type of material is made from various polymers including a type of polymer made from vegetable oils. The material may also include a “prepolymer” component, fillers, pigments and stabilizers. The formulation depends on how the material will be used.

The following link contains a summary of the kinds of ingredients.

http://www.ehow.com/info_8647012_impact ... e-out.html

Much more specific information may be found in patents that describe different material formulations and how the materials might be used. The link below shows several patents related to Impact Gel.

https://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm ... gws_rd=ssl

I hope this helps. Please ask again if you have more questions.

A. Norman

norman40 wrote:Hi Joe_Michael42,

I'm not very familiar with the ingredients used in manufacturing impact absorbing gels. But I did look into Impact Gel. This type of material is made from various polymers including a type of polymer made from vegetable oils. The material may also include a “prepolymer” component, fillers, pigments and stabilizers. The formulation depends on how the material will be used.

The following link contains a summary of the kinds of ingredients.

http://www.ehow.com/info_8647012_impact ... e-out.html

Much more specific information may be found in patents that describe different material formulations and how the materials might be used. The link below shows several patents related to Impact Gel.

https://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm ... gws_rd=ssl

I hope this helps. Please ask again if you have more questions.

A. Norman

Mr. Norman,

I have been doing a lot of research on the shock absorbing compound, and I have somewhat narrowed down the ingredients in the compound. I have found that the prepolymer in the compound is an isocyanate, the thermoplastic polymer is a polybutadiene, the vegetable oils are epoxidized soybean and linseed oils, and the activator is a alkyl tin compound. So my question is, are there different types of isocyanates, polybutadienes, and alkyl tin compounds, and if there are, do you know of what types would be used in an shock absorbing compound?

Thank you for all of your help thus far,
Joe Michael

Hi Joe_Michael42,

You certainly seem to be doing a great job researching shock absorbing gel formulations. Congratulations on your curiosity and thoroughness!

Polymer formulation is outside my expertise so my comments will have to be general. The short answer to your question is yes, there are different kinds of the three compounds you mentioned (actually they are categories of compounds). Selection of the specific types for use in making a shock absorbing gel will depend on the desired properties of the finished gel.

The term “isocyanate” refers to an organic compound functional group including nitrogen, carbon and oxygen atoms. There are many isocyanate compounds, and some are used to produce polymers. For example, polyurethane is made from di-isocyanate monomers. More information about isocyanates is at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isocyanate

“Prepolymer” refers to a reaction intermediate used in polymer production. Isocyanate prepolymers are used in production of various types of polyurethane. Some examples of commercially available isocyanate prepolymers are shown at this link: http://dowac.custhelp.com/app/answers/d ... i-products

Polybutadiene is a type of synthetic rubber made from butadiene. Different types of polybutadiene can be produced depending on the reaction conditions. The finished polymers can differ in elasticity and mechanical strength. An overview of the different polybutadiene types is at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polybutadiene

“Alkyl tin” refers to a category of organic compounds containing tin. There are many alkyl tin compounds. Some alkyl tin compounds are used as catalysts in the production of polymers like polyurethane. I suspect that is the use for the alkyl tin compound in gel production. An overview of alkyl tin compounds is at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organotin_chemistry

I hope this helps. Please ask again if you have more questions.

A. Norman