Borosilicate Research Articles

Predicting the pair correlation functions of silicate and borosilicate glasses using machine learning.

Glasses offer a broad range of tunable thermophysical properties that are linked to their compositions. However, it is challenging to establish a universal composition-property relationship of glasses due to their enormous compositions and chemical space. Here, we address this problem and develop a metamodel of the composition-atomistic structure relationship of a class of glassy materials via a machine learning (ML) approach. Within this ML framework, an unsupervised deep learning technique, viz., a convolutional neural network (CNN) autoencoder, and a regression algorithm, viz. random forest (RF), are integrated into a fully automated pipeline to predict the spatial distribution of atoms in a glass. The RF regression model predicts the pair correlation function of a glass in a latent space. Subsequently, the decoder of the CNN converts the latent space representation to the actual pair correlation function of the given glass. The atomistic structures of silicate (SiO2) and sodium borosilicate (NBS) based glasses with varying compositions and dopants are collected from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to establish and validate this ML pipeline. The model is found to predict the atom pair correlation functions for many unknown glasses very accurately. This method is very generic and can accelerate the design, discovery, and fundamental understanding of the composition-atomistic structure relationship of glasses and other materials.

Biological effects of a zinc-substituted borosilicate bioactive glass on human bone marrow derived stromal cells in vitro and in a critical-size femoral defect model in rats in vivo.

The borosilicate 0106-B1-bioactive glass (BG) composition (in wt%: 37.5 SiO2, 22.6 CaO, 5.9 Na2O, 4.0P2O5, 12.0 K2O, 5.5 MgO, 12.5 B2O3) has shown favorable processing characteristics and bone regeneration ability. This study investigated the addition of zinc (Zn) to 0106-B1-BG as an approach to improve this BG's biological properties. Different proportions of ZnO were substituted for CaO in 0106-B1-BG, resulting in three new BG-compositions: 1-Zn-BG, 2-Zn-BG, 3-Zn-BG (in wt%: 37.5 SiO2, 21.6/20.1/17.6 CaO, 4.0 P2O5, 5.9 Na2O, 12.0 K2O, 5.5 MgO, 12.5 B2O3 and 1.0/2.5/5.0 ZnO). Effects of the BG compositions on cytocompatibility, osteogenic differentiation, extracellular matrix deposition, and angiogenic response of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs) were evaluated in vitro. Angiogenic effects were assessed using a tube formation assay containing human umbilical vein endothelial cells. The in vivo osteogenic and angiogenic potentials of 3-Zn-BG were investigated in comparison to the Zn-free 0106-B1-BG in a rodent critical-size femoral defect model. The osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs improved in the presence of Zn. 3-Zn-BG showed enhanced angiogenic potential, as confirmed by the tube formation assay. While Zn-doped BGs showed clearly superior biological properties in vitro, 3-Zn-BG and 0106-B1-BG equally promoted the formation of new bone in vivo; however, 3-Zn-BG reduced osteoclastic cells and vascular structures in vivo. The acquired data suggests that the differences regarding the in vivo and in vitro results may be due to modulation of inflammatory responses by Zn, as described in the literature. The inflammatory effect should be investigated further to promote clinical applications of Zn-doped BGs.

Development of a laboratory setup for destruction of oil-water emulsions

The work describes a laboratory setup developed by the authors for destruction of oil-water emulsions. The setup can be used in chemical analytical testing laboratories as new auxiliary equipment for preparing samples of crude oils, which are oil-water emulsions, for obtaining dehydrated oil. The setup includes two borosilicate glass units: heating unit and desiccating unit. The heating unit consists of a conical vessel equipped with a heating element for programmable heating and thermostating of the vessel. The desiccating unit consists of a vessel with a drain hole at the bottom, into which, if necessary, a water-absorbing reagent (calcium chloride) is placed for deeper dehydration of the separated oil phase. The units are connected to each other by a glass adapter, which is equipped with two PTFE or KhN-1 type taps, for collecting water and oil phases into different receiving bottles. Feasibility of using calcium chloride as a drying agent was confirmed by a series of experiments on a model oil sample, in which fractions that boiled away at temperatures below 300 °C were preliminary removed. The data obtained confirmed the absence of partial adsorption of resinous-asphaltene substances during the passage of the separated oil phase through the drying reagent layer. Metrological characteristics of determining separated water fraction were calculated to assess the effectiveness of the laboratory installation. The result of using the developed laboratory setup is the complete destruction of direct and reverse type water-oil emulsions of varying degrees of stability, which could not be demulsified by known laboratory methods. As a result, separated oil phases with a water content of below 1% were obtained, which allows carrying out laboratory studies of oils to determine their composition and properties both to characterize the oils themselves and to establish the reasons for stability of analyzed emulsions.

Corrosion testing of prospective chrome refractory materials in borosilicate glass melts

Justification is provided of significant practical relevance of the issue of corrosion and erosion resistance of refractory materials in furnaces with direct electric heating that are used for vitrification of high-level waste. Main promising materials are listed, and an algorithm is given for assessing their resistance to attack of borosilicate glass melts under operating conditions of electric furnaces. Corrosion testing of chrome refractory materials of joint Chinese and Belgian origin has been carried out under static and dynamic conditions in a low-melting borosilicate glass melt and in a borosilicate glass melt containing simulated liquid high-level waste (HLW). A search has been conducted among chrome refractory materials of Chinese and Belgian origin for ones demonstrating the highest glass melt attack resistance with regard to the conditions of HLW solidification. The results of these tests will be considered in the design of removable and small-scale melters when selecting the material for melter lining.

INFLUENCE OF BUBBLE GROWTH AND LIQUID FILM INSTABILITIES ON DROPLET IMPACT PHENOMENA UNDER SATURATED BOILING REGIMES

Evaporation and boiling are processes that occur in many industrial applications involving multiphase flows. For liquid films, however, studies are scarce regarding heat and mass transfer mechanisms and require further research. The main objective of this work is to evaluate bubble formation and detachment, followed by the impact phenomena. Therefore, an experimental setup was built and adapted for this purpose. A borosilicate glass impact surface is placed over a heat source, which consists of an aluminum block with four embedded cartridge heaters that heat the liquid film by conduction. Water and n-heptane are the fluids adopted for the experimental study, as the differences in thermophysical properties allow for a wider range of experiments. Study cases include dimensionless temperatures of θ > 0.6 for similar impact conditions. In terms of bubble formation, n-heptane displays smaller bubble diameters and higher release rates, whereas water exhibits larger bubbles and lower rates. Qualitatively, liquid film temperatures close to the saturation temperature do not reveal a direct influence on the crown development and posterior secondary atomization. For later stages of the impact, the central jet height and breakup are influenced by the film temperature, which is associated with the variation of thermophysical properties.

Enhancing polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coated film for food processing: Unveiling surface transformations through oxygenated plasma treatment and parameter optimization using response surface methodology.

Spray drying fruit juice powders poses challenges because sugars and organic acids with low molecular weight and a low glass transition temperature inherently cause stickiness. This study employed a hydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film to mimic the surface of the drying chamber wall. The Central Composite Design (CCD) using response surface methodology investigated the impact of power (X1, Watt) and the duration of oxygenated plasma treatment (X2, minutes) on substrate contact angle (°), reflecting surface hydrophobicity. To validate the approach, Morinda citrofolia (MC) juice, augmented with maltodextrins as drying agents, underwent spray drying on the improved PTFE-coated surface. The spray drying process for MC juice was performed at inlet air temperatures of 120, 140, and 160°C, along with Noni juice-to-maltodextrin solids ratios of 4.00, 1.00, and 0.25. The PTFE-coated borosilicate substrate, prepared at a radio frequency (RF) power of 90W for 15 minutes of treatment time, exhibited a porous and spongy microstructure, correlating with superior contact angle performance (171°) compared to untreated borosilicate glass. Optimization data indicated that the PTFE film attained an optimum contact angle of 146.0° with a specific combination of plasma RF operating power (X1 = 74 W) and treatment duration (X2 = 10.0 minutes). RAMAN spectroscopy indicated a structural analysis with an ID/IG ratio of 0.2, while Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis suggested an average particle size of less than 100 nm for all coated films. The process significantly improved the powder's hygroscopicity, resistance to caking, and moisture content of maltodextrin-MC juice. Therefore, the discovery of this modification, which applies oxygen plasma treatment to PTFE-coated substrates, effectively enhances surface hydrophobicity, contact angle, porosity, roughness, and ultimately improves the efficacy and recovery of the spray drying process.

High-performance Au@CsPbBrI2 glass for wide color gamut backlit display

Perovskite quantum dots materials have achieved significant progress in the field of optoelectronics owing to their unique advantages, such as a wide color gamut, adjustable wavelength, and low cost. These advantages make them an ideal substitute for CdSe quantum dots in backlit display devices. As a kind of nanoparticles with a localized surface plasmon resonance effect, Au can be effectively used to enhance the photoluminescence of perovskite nanocrystals (NCs). In this study, Au nanoparticles were introduced into a borosilicate glass system with CsPbBrI2 NCs to improve the optical properties. A series of Au@CsPbBrI2 NCs glasses with tunable wavelengths in the range of 628–640 nm was successfully prepared. The photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of the CsPbBrI2 NCs glass was increased from 15% to 68% with the addition of AuBr3. The Au@CsPbBrI2 NC glass showed good aqueous, thermal, and blue light stabilities. Additionally, a backlight conversion film prepared by compounding the Au@CsPbBrI2 NC glass powder exhibiting the optimal properties with polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), was applied to a liquid crystal display (LCD). The presented image were more saturated and richer. Our results show that the optimized sample has immense potential for practical applications in the field of backlit displays.

Property enhancement of a close-spaced sublimated CdTe thin film by a post-growth activation step with CdCl2 and MgCl2

The activation of CdTe thin films using MgCl2 after growth demonstrates superior texture, optical characteristics, and structural properties compared to the hazardous CdCl2, particularly in the context of large-scale production.

Overcoming aggregation with laser heated nanoelectrospray mass spectrometry: thermal stability and pathways for loss of bicarbonate from carbonic anhydrase II.

Variable temperature electrospray mass spectrometry is useful for multiplexed measurements of the thermal stabilities of biomolecules, but the ionization process can be disrupted by aggregation-prone proteins/complexes that have irreversible unfolding transitions. Resistively heating solutions containing a mixture of bovine carbonic anhydrase II (BCAII), a CO2 fixing enzyme involved in many biochemical pathways, and cytochrome c leads to complete loss of carbonic anhydrase signal and a significant reduction in cytochrome c signal above ∼72 °C due to aggregation. In contrast, when the tips of borosilicate glass nanoelectrospray emitters are heated with a laser, complete thermal denaturation curves for both proteins are obtained in <1 minute. The simultaneous measurements of the melting temperature of BCAII and BCAII bound to bicarbonate reveal that the bicarbonate stabilizes the folded form of this protein by ∼6.4 °C. Moreover, the temperature dependences of different bicarbonate loss pathways are obtained. Although protein analytes are directly heated by the laser for only 140 ms, heat conduction further up the emitter leads to a total analyte heating time of ∼41 s. Pulsed laser heating experiments could reduce this time to ∼0.5 s for protein aggregation that occurs on a faster time scale. Laser heating provides a powerful method for studying the detailed mechanisms of cofactor/ligand loss with increasing temperature and promises a new tool for studying the effect of ligands, drugs, growth conditions, buffer additives, or other treatments on the stabilities of aggregation-prone biomolecules.

X-ray-induced long persistent luminescence of Cu+-doped borosilicate glasses for radiation detection

This is the first report on the preparation of LPL glass through X-ray induction, and a highly linear relationship was observed between the initial afterglow intensity and the irradiation dose. It can be used for radiation dose detection.

Quality Factors in Borosilicate Glass Shell Resonators

Quality Factors in Borosilicate Glass Shell Resonators

Разработка и испытания эвакуируемого малогабаритного плавителя прямого джоулевого нагрева дизайна ФГУП «ПО «Маяк» для отверждения ЖРО от переработки ОЯТ в боросиликатное стекло в рамках создания нового комплекса остекловывания ВАО

The article describes the State of Art in HLW vitrifi ation at the PA Mayak’s radiochemical production facility. It presents some conceptual and engineering designs that may further advance the vitrifi ation technology at the enterprise considering various types of liquid HLW. The article discusses the key differences between the promising evacuable small-sized melter and the units previously operated at the enterprise. It overviews its evolvement stages and the results of tests run at PA Mayak in 2018—2020 on the prototypes of evacuable small-sized direct Joule-heated melters designed for borosilicate glass melting. The paper overviews a wide range of the implemented studies and the melters’ operational experience. It focuses more specifi ally on the third improved prototype of an evacuable small-sized melter with its designs developed by PA Mayak in 2022 based on the previously tested prototypes.

Spectroscopic study of model matrix borosilicate glasses

Spectroscopic study of model matrix borosilicate glasses

Tunable valence state and scintillation performance of dense Ce3+-doped borosilicate glasses prepared in ambient atmosphere

Tunable valence state and scintillation properties from Ce-doped gadolinium aluminoborosilicate glass scintillators for high-energy physics applications.

Novel red emitting Phosphor-in-Glass (PiG) based on Na6CaP2O9: Eu3+ phosphor as an inorganic colour converter for w-LED applications

A set of transparent, red-emitting, nUV excitable phosphor-in-glass (PiG) of different phosphor concentrations was fabricated via low temperature co-sintering process by incorporating Na6CaP2O9:Eu3+ phosphor into the multicomponent borosilicate glass. Structural and morphological properties were estimated through XRD, FTIR, HR-TEM and FE-SEM. The electron microscope images confirm the successful incorporation of phosphor into the amorphous glass with negligible glass-phosphor interaction. The luminescent characteristics of the prepared samples were investigated via UV–Vis transmittance spectra, photoluminescence spectra, JO theory, decay analysis and quantum yield measurement. The transmittance spectra reveal exceptional transparency of the samples in the visible region. The PiGs emit prominently at 614 nm under 393 nm excitation with a lifetime in the millisecond range. Chromaticity coordinates corresponding to red emission under 393 nm excitation are (0.634, 0.366). These results contemplate the fabricated PiGs as a potential red emissive inorganic colour converter in lighting and display devices.

Nanoporous glass as prospective material for fiber optics

The method of manufacturing active silica fibers by sintering nanoporous glasses has a number of advantages over methods of vapor deposition (MCVD, OVD). The features of obtaining nanoporous glasses by the method of two-phase separation of alkali borosilicate glasses are described. Examples of doping sintered nanoporous glasses with rare earth elements are given and the main results on the production of active fibers with a core are considered. It has been shown that such fibers are similar to their MCVD analogues in terms of properties. At the same time, it is possible to impregnate nanoporous glass with large (more than 1 at.%) concentration of dopants without revealing clustering effects and without noticeable fluctuations in the refractive index of the fiber core glass.

Characterization of Mechanical and Radiation Shielding Features of Borosilicate Glasses Doped with MoO3

Characterization of Mechanical and Radiation Shielding Features of Borosilicate Glasses Doped with MoO3

Laser-induced bubble dynamics optimization for high-aspect-ratio 3D micro-fluidic channels fabrication

In this study, we demonstrate a high-aspect-ratio microhole fabrication method that uses a femtosecond laser to drill from the rear side of transparent borosilicate glass in a specific solution environment with an assisted ultrasonic field. The experimental results show that an ablation enhancement effect could be achieved by mixing ethanol with distilled water with a volume fraction of approximately 20 %. The craters produced in the mixed solution were wider than those produced in water. An assisted ultrasonic field was introduced to further improve the drilling depth and avoid the termination of the drilling process caused by bubble aggregation and debris blockage. The bubble dynamics induced by the femtosecond-laser-induced breakdown effect were observed using shadowgraphs. The shadowgraphs of the high-speed camera revealed that the cavitation bubbles in the mixed solution had more than twice the maximum diameter and a significantly higher number of bubble expansions than those in water, which may cause a stronger impact pressure. The coupling effect of laser ablation enhancement and bubble bursting impact helped achieve a high material removal rate and significantly improve drilling depth. This indicates that an ultrahigh-aspect-ratio straight (∼273) microhole with a ∼2 µm diameter can be fabricated. By designing machining paths, we can machine 3D complex curved microchannels such as spirals. This method shows considerable potential in biomedical and microelectronics applications, for example to fabricate calibrated microholes for container closure integrity testing (CCIT).

Borosilicate glass as a surface finishing alternative for improving the mechanical properties of third-generation zirconia

ObjectiveThis study evaluated the effect of an experimental borosilicate glass on the mechanical and optical behavior of 5Y-PSZ zirconia and comparing it to commercial glaze and as-sintered. MethodsDisc-shaped specimens of a 5Y-PSZ (Zpex Smile) were prepared and sintered (1550 °C, 2 h). The zirconia discs were randomly divided according to the surface treatment: as-sintered (C), commercial glaze (G), and experimental borosilicate glass (SL). Glaze and experimental glass powders were mixed with building liquids and applied to zirconia with a brush. G specimens were fired at 950 °C and SL at 1200 °C. An extended dwell time of 20 min was applied to both groups. Biaxial flexural strength, roughness (Ra and Rz), translucency (TP00), color alteration (ΔE00), Vickers hardness, fracture toughness, residual stresses, and x-ray diffraction analyses were conducted. Statistical analyses were performed with Weibull statistics, Kruskal-Wallis, or ANOVA tests (α = 5%). ResultsSL yielded the highest flexural strength (799.35 MPa), followed by G (662.34 MPa), and C (485.38 MPa). The fracture origin of SL specimens was in the bulk zirconia, while G and C showed fractures starting at the surface. As-sintered reached the highest fracture toughness and hardness. Glaze and borosilicate glass provided surface compressive stresses. Borosilicate glass application led to phase transformation (t→m). SL and G showed the lowest roughness. TP00 and ΔE00 were similar among groups. SignificanceBorosilicate glass improved strength without harming the optical properties of third-generation zirconia. Toughness and roughness provided by the experimental glass were similar to those from commercial glaze.

Classical molecular dynamics simulations of CsPbBr3 perovskite quantum dots embedded sodium borosilicate glasses

We have simulated the configuration of perovskite CsPbBr3 quantum dot (QD), sodium borosilicate (SBS) glass matrix, and the combination of these two, namely CsPbBr3 QDs embedded SBS glass. We delineate a microscope porthole containing ∼100,000 atoms and with a dimension of ∼30 nm × 30 nm × 1 nm, using the classical molecular dynamics (CMD) benefiting from graphics processing unit (GPU) acceleration. We quantify the structural properties of glass matrix and determined the crystallization of QDs, in excellent agreement with experimental observations. Based on analysis the of boron coordination, structural undulation influenced by the K value (KSiO2/B2O3), we demonstrate the significant compositional repulsion in the combination derived from electronegative nonmetal elements, namely oxygen (O) and bromine (Br). As the K value decreases, indicating an increase in the proportion of B2O3 and a decrease in the proportion of SiO2, the [BO3]/[BO4] ratio increases, resulting in a glass matrix with a stronger repulsive 'anionic sea' and a more relaxed encapsulated environment for CsPbBr3 QD. This creates greater repulsion for the allocation of oxide and bromide, and a more suitable space for the crystallization of CsPbBr3 clusters, which in turn regulates the formation of CsPbBr3 QDs. These results constructively extend our understanding of the microstructure of CsPbBr3 QDs embedded SBS glasses, and provide valuable insights for the engineering of CsPbBr3 QDs in SBS glasses on high luminescent CsPbBr3 QDs embedded glasses.