Effect of ZrO2 on the glass durability

Abstract

ABSTRACTBorosilicate glasses were prepared with the molar composition 70 SiO2-15 Na2O-15B2O3-n ZrO2 with n ranging from 0 to 10. The glasses were studied by conventional static dissolution tests of powders at 90°C in pure water and in buffered solutions for long times (months) and short times (minutes). During the first minutes of alteration in a buffered solution, sodium is rapidly leached until its loss becomes controlled by the silicon hydrolysis. The experimental data show that the introduction of zirconium drastically reduces the initial dissolution rate (Vo) of the glass. Zirconium strengthens the silica network but also strongly modifies the porous layer morphology. In the case of glasses with small Zr contents (less than 2%), the silica dissolution rate decreases but the formation of a passivating alteration layer is also delayed. As a result, small amounts of zirconium paradoxically decrease the loss of silica but increase the final loss of sodium and boron in the static leaching tests. Larger zirconium contents (above 5%) increase the durability of the glass regarding the initial dissolution rate and the final concentration of all elements.