Incorporation
of Water into Glasses and its Influence on the Diffusion of Cations, Including
the Creation of Diffusion Barriers
Lei Tian and Rüdiger Dieckmann
Department of Materials Science and Engineering,
Cornell University, Bard Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-1501, U.S.A.
Abstract
When heated to elevated temperatures, many glasses take up water from
moisture-containing environments. This leads not only to changes in local water
concentrations, but also to non-uniform structural changes within the glass.
These structural changes impact many structure-sensitive properties, including
the diffusivity of ions. Experimental data for the uptake of water by a Type I
silica glass, Infrasil 302, and by an alkaline-earth boroaluminosilicate
glass, Corning Code 1737, are discussed as well as the influence of the
incorporation of water into these glasses on the diffusion of sodium.
Furthermore, the modification of glass near the surface by the uptake of water,
leading in the case of the alkaline-earth boroaluminosilicate glass to the
creation of a very effective barrier layer against the diffusion of sodium, is
addressed.
J. Non-Cryst. Solids, 352 (6-7)
[2006] 679-689. (article available
at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2005.11.056)