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Gel Structures in Leached Alkali Silicate Glass

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

Bruce C. Bunker
Affiliation:
Sandia National National Laboratories, P. O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185
Thomas J. Headley
Affiliation:
Sandia National National Laboratories, P. O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185
Sally C. Douglas
Affiliation:
Sandia National National Laboratories, P. O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185
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Abstract

Transmission electron microscopy of leached NaOċ3SiO2 and K2Oċ3SiO2 glasses showed that the hydrateg glass surface is a silica rich gel which phase separates during leaching. Phase separation is initiated when pockets of an aqueous phase nucleate and grow in the hydrated silica matrix. The aqueous pockets eventually become a network of interconnected pores with a pore diameter of ∼30 nm. In advanced stages of leaching, the remaining interconnected silica rich phase resembles an aggregation of colloidal silica particles. The observed phase separation is consistent with literature models concerning the chemistry of silica in aqueous solutions and in leached glass.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1984

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References

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