Strong and Tough Glass with Self‐Dispersed Nanoparticles via Solidification

• Published in: Advanced materials (Weinheim) Vol. 31; no. 33; pp. e1901803 - n/a
• Main Authors: Jiang, Qiang‐Guo, Cao, Chezheng, Lin, Ting‐Chiang, Wu, Shanghua, Li, Xiaochun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.08.2019
• Subjects: Amorphous materials; Boron oxides; Ceramics; Dispersion; Elastic limit; Fracture toughness; Glass; glasses; Materials science; Modulus of elasticity; Nanocomposites; Nanoparticles; Solidification; solidification processing; Strain; glasses; fracture toughness; nanocomposites; solidification processing
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.201901803
• ISSN: 0935-9648

Glassy materials can be broadly defined as any amorphous solid, which are important in nature and have significant societal value for their applications in daily life and industry. Although many methods have been applied, the fracture toughness of traditional glasses is still very low due to intrinsic brittleness, significantly limiting their use for structural applications. While nanoelements may be added into glasses and ceramics to form nanocomposites with enhanced properties, it is extremely difficult to distribute and disperse them inside the liquid glass/ceramic matrix with traditional processing methods. It is shown that a strong and tough glass can be fabricated through a direct‐solidification process using a nanoparticle self‐dispersion mechanism in a glass melt (2MgO·2Al2O3·5SiO2) with the assistance of B2O3, delivering a 6.1% strain limit and strength up to E/14 (E is elastic modulus), which is close to the theoretical limit of E/10 and one of the highest among all materials reported so far. The fracture toughness of the glass with 30 vol% SiC nanoparticles is significantly higher than any other inorganic glass tested under similar conditions. This new method opens up remarkable opportunities for glass and ceramic research, manufacturing, and applications. A strong and tough glass can be fabricated through a direct‐solidification process using a nanoparticle self‐dispersion mechanism, delivering a 6.1% strain limit and strength close to the theoretical limit. The fracture toughness of this glass is significantly higher than any other inorganic glasses. This new method opens up remarkable opportunities for glass and ceramic research, manufacturing, and applications.