Glass chemistry: Problems, perspectives, and application (A review)

Abstract

The correlations have been revealed and the regularities of glass formation have been determined for systems and materials of different compositions from generalized notions on the basis of a minimal number of fundamental (atomic–structural) substance characteristics. The problem of describing the relationship between the values characterizing the degree of delocalization of valence electrons, the electron network of chemical bonds, nucleus charge, and glass-forming ability has been formulated and solved in general terms for the first time. A qualitative criterion of the substances’ glass-forming ability, which enables one to predict and estimate the possibilities of fabricating materials of different compositions in the glasslike state, has been grounded and developed. A self-contained field of chemical sciences, glass chemistry, has been created and suggested for consideration. Based on the above approach, glass of numerous new compositions has been identified and synthesized, its physical–chemical characteristics have been investigated using structure-sensitive methods, and the potential fields of their practical application have been determined.