APCH312 – Materials

Practical 1:
Investigating Glasses

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Contents
Aim....................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 3
Experimental ......................................................................................................................... 5
Results .................................................................................................................................. 6
Discussion............................................................................................................................. 6
Questions .............................................................................................................................. 7
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 8
References ............................................................................................................................ 9

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Aim
The aim of this experiment was to produce different variations of glass and investigate their
solubility, colour and transparency.

Introduction
Glasses are a special type of ceramic material that is determined primarily by its atomic
structure. It is a material that has hardened and become rigid without crystalizing giving it a
solid structure and making it amorphous. Glass is made by heating raw material to extreme
temperatures followed by quick cooling. [1,2]

Silicate glasses, which primarily consist of silicon dioxide (silica, SiO2), but differ from pure
silica glass (fused silica) in that they also contain soda, alumina, phosphorus pentoxide, and
potassium carbonate, are the most commonly used glasses. Throughout the visible spectral
range, they are normally transparent. [3]

Silicate glasses are a type of oxide glass. The structural relationship between the oxygen
atoms and the cations of the oxide compound determines the ability of n oxide to form a glass
upon cooling (i.e., amorphous). The oxide cations will bond with the oxygen atoms to form a
tetrahedral network in order to achieve a glass structure. Oxides that form glasses are known
as network formers. Common examples are SiO2, B2O3, GeO2, and P2O5. [1]

A very common glass is Soda–lime Glass. The majority of soda-lime silicate glasses are
made from sand (silica, SiO2), soda ash (Na2CO3), and lime stone (CaCO3), with minor
additives including dolomite (CaMg (CO3)2), sodium sulphate (Na2SO4), and alumina
(Al2O3). During melting process, around 550 °C, soda ash is reacted with lime stone to
produce sodium calcium carbonate (Equation 1), melting at 780 °C. Soda ash is added to
obtain a lower glass transition temperature, and lime for improved durability (e.g., water
resistance). When sodium calcium carbonate reacts with sand, sodium silicate is formed
(Equation 2) at 900 °C. [4]
Na2CO3(s) + CaCO3(s) → Na2Ca(CO3)2…. Equation 1
Na2Ca(CO3)2 + 2SiO2 → Na2SiO3 + CaSiO3 + 2CO2…. Equation 2

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Soda–lime glasses are commonly used as window glass, bottle glass, and light bulbs. They're
cheap and easy to recycle, despite the fact that melting them takes a lot of energy.
Unfortunately, because their thermal expansion coefficient is rather high, the glass will
expand as the temperature rises. [3]

By replacing the lime and soda in normal glass with litharge (PbO) lead glass can be made.
Although it is more expensive than common glass, it inhibits unique physical properties that
allow it to be easier to melt and work with. Lead glass has a high refractive index, which
gives it sparkle and clarity, and it is softer than other glass, making it easier to cut, etch, and
polish. Fine crystal and cut-glass products, as well as brilliant art glass, are made with lead
glass. Lead glass is also used in electrical equipment because of its high electrical resistance.
[6]

Another form of glass if known as borate glass. Boric oxide (B2O3), which is added as
borates, is used as a flux to lower processing temperatures in cases when alkali addition is
restricted. An example of this is when there is a need for low thermal expansion to achieve
thermal shock resistance, or a need for high chemical durability or low electrical
conductivity. Glass with a relatively high level of B2O3 is classified as borosilicate.
Borates give borosilicate glass a range of characteristics, including thermal shock resistance,
chemical resistance, aqueous durability, and physical strength. Uses include oven-to-table
cookware, laboratory ware, pharmaceutical containers, and lighting lenses. [5]

Special glasses are created by mixing different materials into the glass melt or just altering
the glass surface. A transition metal oxide is typically used to make coloured glass.
Metal ions absorb specific wavelengths of light, which vary depending on the metal, causing
the appearance of colour. Glass, for example, is violet when manganese dioxide is involved,
blue when cobalt oxide is present, and green when chromium oxide is present. [6,7]
Several variables affect the colour of glass, these include:
• The type of glass - nickel oxide makes soda-lime glass yellow, but it makes potash-
lime glass purple.
• The charge on the metal ion can also be significant. The colour of iron (II) oxide is
blue-green, while iron (III) oxide is brown-yellow. The kind of heat treatment can
also make a big difference.

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 • The ligand - the same charge metal ion can be differently coloured depending on the
ligands that are bound to it.

Experimental
Powders:
1) Borax powder
2) 1.6g boric acid and 0.4g sodium borate
3) 1.0g red lead oxide and 1.0g boric acid
4) 1.30g silicon dioxide,0.70g sodium carbonate, 0.15g calcium oxide, and 0.06g
aluminium oxide.
5) 0.80g silicon dioxide,0.64g sodium carbonate,0.28g boric acid, 0.02g aluminium oxide,
and 0.01g potassium carbonate
Part A:
A loop of diameter of approximately 0.5cm was made using a piece of nichrome wire. The
wire was held with tongs over a Bunsen burner until the wire had turned extremely hot
becoming red. The hot wire was then dipped into the powder until it adhered to the wire.
thereafter the wire had been put on the heat once again, and was removed once the powder
had melted into drops of glass. This procedure was done for powders 1 to 3.

Part B:
The same procedure had been done for powders 4 and 5.

Part C:
To the 5 powdered mixtures a pinch of inorganic salt was added, and the method above had
been repeated. There were 3 salts (cupric chloride, iron(iii) chloride and magnesium oxide),
were added to the 5 mixtures separately.

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Results
Table: Solubility of different glass
Experiment No addition Addition of Addition of Iron Addition of
Cupric chloride (iii) chloride Magnesium
oxide
1 Insoluble Insoluble Insoluble Insoluble
2 Insoluble Insoluble Insoluble Insoluble
3 Insoluble Slightly soluble Soluble Insoluble
4 Insoluble Insoluble Insoluble Insoluble
5 Insoluble Insoluble Insoluble Insoluble

Table 2: Colour and Transparency of different glass

Experiment No addition Addition of Addition of Iron Addition of
Cupric chloride (iii) chloride Magnesium
oxide
1 Clear Green tinged Opaque Dark Opaque grey
with blue orange black
2 Clear Transparent Reddish orange Grey
green
3 White and Opaque green red Grey
opaque
4 White and Light green Dark orange Grey
opaque
5 White and Light green going Dark brown black
opaque on to white

Discussion
In this experiment different types of glass were made using various powders, thereafter
noting their solubility, formation of colour and degree of transparency. All glasses made were
observed to be insoluble when placed in iced water due to their solid structure and hardness,
except for glass 3 addition of cupric chloride and Iron (III) chloride.

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when observing the colour formations from no additions to the additions of organic salts it
was noted that no additions brought about a colourless white and clear glass. The addition of
cupric chloride had changed the glass colour to different variations of green, the addition of
Iron(III) chloride brought up an orange red colour and manganese oxide brought about a grey
to black colour range. The change in colour is due to oxidation state f the metals and well as o
the glass composition, therefore the colour changes with the change if glass type, although
the same salt was added.

Questions
1. What is the difference between a crystal and an amorphous solid?
In crystalline solids the particles are arranged in a 3-dimensional order, they are
symmetrical and have a sharp melting point, whilst amorphous solids don not have a
regular arrangement, unsymmetrical and has no particular melting point. [8]

2. What are the properties of the boron glass that you have made? How is it
different to window glass?
Boron glass has a lower thermal expansion coefficient than soda-lime glass. As a
result, Borosilicate glass is more resistant to thermal shock, it is commonly used for
glassware that can be heated directly. Borosilicate glass is harder, stronger, and more
durable than soda-lime glass. Borosilicate glass is more resistant to acidic chemicals
than soda-lime glass, making it a better choice for use in chemistry labs where acidic
and alkaline solutions are used. [9]
3. What are the favourable properties of glass? How are these exploited in
commercial applications of glass (give examples)
Glass is a hard material that has great resistance against an applied load. It can
withstand rain, heat from the sun and the impact of wind making it weather resistant.
It has the ability to absorb, reflect, and refract light, allowing us to manage and
regulate natural light to influence our daily activities. Glass is also a good insulator
against heat, electricity and electromagnetic radiation due to its good response against
UV light transmission. It can endure the impacts of chemical reactions in a variety of
environments, including acidic conditions. It can be blown, drawn, or pressed into any
colour, shape, or variety, and it's available on the market based on the application,
dimensional requirements, and safety needs. [10]The versatility and endurance of glass

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 is the reason for its large market in the commercial world, being able to withstand
extreme conditions but also being brittle enough to crack and break, therefore needing
to be replacing makes it easy for manufacturers to make money with a good quality
product.

4. What properties of glass are potentially unfavourable? How could the

potential problems that could be caused by these unfavourable
properties be overcome?
Glass is a stiff, rigid and a brittle material. When it is subjected to stress, it breaks
without significant strain. The capability of glass to withstand an immediately applied
load is poor therefore making it less impact resistant. It traps heat which eventually
warms up the interior creating a greenhouse effect. [10]By using reinforced glass and
window film, glass can be protected from the elements and from breaking.

5. Why does glass get soft and not melt suddenly to form a liquid?
because glasses are amorphous, they don’t have a sharp melting point but have a glass
transition temperature (Tg). Below the transition temperature the glass is a solid and
above the transition temperature it initially becomes rubbery and thereafter becomes a
liquid.

Conclusion
it was observed that from all the glass produced the boron glass of red lead oxide and boric
acid was soluble when cupric chloride and iro(iii) chloride was added, this could be due to
insufficient cooling before the glass drops were added to the water. it had been determined
the oxidation states of the metals present in the inorganic salts were the cause of the colour
change as well the composition of the glass itself therefore silicate glasses did not have the
exact colour as boron glass.

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References

1. Materials.unsw.edu.au. 2022. Glass | School of Materials Science and Engineering.

[online] Available at: <https://www.materials.unsw.edu.au/study-us/high-school-
students-and-teachers/online-tutorials/ceramics/glass> [Accessed 21 March 2022].
2. Pruessner K. 2022. Laboratory Manual for Materials APCH312 [lab manual]. Westville:
University of KwaZulu Natal.
3. Paschotta, D., 2022. Silicate Glasses. [online] Rp-photonics.com. Available at:
<https://www.rp-photonics.com/silicate_glasses.html> [Accessed 21 March 2022].
4. Meechoowas, E., Ketboonruang, P., Tapasa, K. and Jitwatcharakomol, T., 2012.
Improve melting glass efficiency by Batch-to melt conversion. Procedia Engineering,
32, pp.956-961.
5. Borax.com. 2022. [online] Available at:
<https://www.borax.com/BoraxCorp/media/Borax-Main/Resources/Technical-
Bulletin/borates-
glasses.pdf?ext=.pdf#:~:text=Borates%20impart%20many%20distinct%20properties,%
2C%20lighting%20lenses%2C%20and%20tubing.> [Accessed 22 March 2022].
6. Kolb, K. and Kolb, D., 2000. Glass—Sand + Imagination. Journal of Chemical
Education, 77(7), p.812.
7. Compound Interest. 2022. Colours of Transition Metal Ions in Aqueous Solution.
[online] Available at: <https://www.compoundchem.com/2014/03/05/colours-of-
transition-metal-ions-in-aqueous-solution/> [Accessed 22 March 2022].
8. BYJUS. 2022. Difference Between Crystalline and Amorphous in Tabular Form -
BYJU'S. [online] Available at: <https://byjus.com/chemistry/difference-between-
crystalline-and-amorphous/> [Accessed 22 March 2022].
9. Westlab.com. 2022. What is the Difference between Soda-lime Glass and Borosilicate
Glass? Westlab. [online] Available at:
<https://www.westlab.com/blog/2017/11/02/what-is-the-difference-between-soda-lime-
glass-and-borosilicate-glass> [Accessed 22 March 2022].
10. Baraiya, K., 2022. Characteristics & Properties of Glass as Building Material. [online]
GharPedia. Available at: <https://gharpedia.com/blog/characteristics-properties-glass-
building-material/> [Accessed 22 March 2022].

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