ANTIMICROBIAL AND STRENGTHENED-GLASS ARTICLES THROUGH PRESSURIZED ION EXCHANGE

• Main Authors: MARTIN, Arthur Winston, TRUESDALE, Carlton Maurice
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 15.02.2017
• Subjects: CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF GLASSES, GLAZES, OR VITREOUSENAMELS; CHEMISTRY; GLASS; JOINING GLASS TO GLASS OR OTHER MATERIALS; METALLURGY; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF FIBRES OR FILAMENTS MADE FROM GLASS,MINERALS OR SLAGS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF GLASS

A method of treating a substrate in a pressure vessel that includes the steps: preparing an ion-exchange bath with a bath composition that comprises a polar solvent and a plurality of ion-exchanging ions in a vessel; submersing a substrate having an outer region containing a plurality of exchangeable ions in the bath; pressurizing the bath in the vessel to a predetermined pressure substantially above ambient pressure; heating the bath in the vessel to a predetermined temperature; and treating the substrate for a predetermined ion-exchange duration at the predetermined pressure and temperature such that a portion of the plurality of exchangeable ions is exchanged with a portion of the ion-exchanging ions. The substrate can consist essentially of a glass, glass-ceramic or ceramic substrate composition, and the predetermined ion-exchange duration, temperature and pressure can each be selected based at least in part on the substrate composition and the bath composition.