What is the Difference Between Glass and Ceramics?

What is the Di erence Between Glass and

Ceramics?
Sponsored by Mo-Sci Oct 3 2024
Reviewed by Louis Castel

Glass and ceramics share similar material qualities, such as high strength and
hardness. However, their structures differ significantly at the microscopic level,
influencing their applicability for specific uses.

Transparent optical ceramic. Image Source: CILAS. Used under CC BY-SA 3.0 / Cropped
from original.

Key Characteristics of Glass

Glass is a material distinguished by its amorphous or non-crystalline microscopic structure.1
Glasses are typically transparent to visible light, and many are valued for their chemical
inertness and hardness, allowing them to endure highly corrosive environments such as
severe pH levels and biological conditions.2

Crystalline materials, in contrast, have a great degree of regularity in their atomic structure,
which includes a periodic crystal lattice. The planes of atoms in crystalline materials can
easily glide past one another, reducing internal stresses.

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This uniformity is absent in glasses, which contributes to their brittleness. The glass
transition temperature—the temperature at which glass changes from a hard, brittle state to
a molten one—is an important property of glass. This temperature has a considerable
influence on the glass’ thermal characteristics and behavior.3

Glasses are commonly made up of network formers like SiO2, B2O3, and P2O5, as well as
network modifiers intended to attain specific features. Minimizing undesired dopants in
optical fibers is critical to preventing the creation of color centers and radiation damage.
Dopants can, however, improve the optical and optoelectronic properties of glasses for use
in other applications.4

Bioactive glasses form a different category, designed for medical equipment and
technologies. These materials are physiologically safe and aid in the healing or therapy
processes, often through ion release.5

Bioactive glasses—typically composed of SiO2, calcium oxide, sodium oxide, and

phosphate (P2O5)—can be created with specific degradation kinetics to allow drug release
or the creation of dissolvable scaffolds for wound healing.

Key Characteristics of a Ceramic

Ceramic materials are known for their extreme thermal resistance. They are part of a wide
family that includes carbides, inorganic materials, metallic oxides, and nitrides. Ceramics’
microstructure is made up of small crystalline portions known as grains, which can vary in
size.

Grain size and composition have a substantial impact on ceramic material qualities, and
interfaces between these grains are critical for improving hardness and durability.7

Ceramics can be extremely fragile, with little resistance to shearing and tension pressures.
However, like many glasses, they are highly resistant to chemical erosion.

With the right chemical composition, ceramics can be engineered into semiconductors and
electrical components. Due to their excellent thermal and electrical resistance, ceramic
materials are also used to make numerous capacitors.

Ceramics are now widely employed in many industries, and the development of composite
ceramics has expanded their applications, notably in the medical profession, to create
devices such as dental implants.8

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Glass-Ceramics
While a wide range of glass and ceramic materials exist, the perfect material qualities for a
certain application may need to combine their best features. Glass-ceramics are such a
hybrid, with glass-like chemical compositions but a different microstructure.

Glass-ceramics, as opposed to purely glassy materials, are composed of a crystalline

structure interleaved with amorphous features. This is often accomplished using a fine-
grained microstructure that evenly distributes crystalline phases inside an amorphous glass
matrix.

This hybrid microstructure makes glass-ceramics stronger than pure glass and allows them
to maintain some of ceramics’ favorable electrical characteristics while staying transparent.9

Glass-ceramics are highly appreciated as bioactive materials, with versions such as

Bioglass 4555 getting FDA certification for use in medical devices.

The capacity to adjust their properties during manufacture via controlled crystallization
procedures increases their adaptability to difficult applications.

Nonmetallic materials, such as glass, ceramics, and glass-ceramics, have a wide range of
properties that are determined by the degree of crystallinity in the microstructure.

In general, more crystallinity leads to tougher materials, but it can also increase light
scattering, necessitating particular processing to make ceramic materials transparent.

Mo-Sci Solutions
Mo-Sci specializes in the research and production of glass, ceramic, and glass-ceramic
materials for a wide range of applications.

Whether you require very high-purity silicon dioxide or a more complicated custom-made
bioactive material, contact Mo-Sci now to see how its services and capabilities may help
you find the ideal material solution for your product requirements.

References
1. Doremus, R. H. (1972). Structure of inorganic glasses. Annual Review of Materials

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Science, 2(1), 93-120. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ms.02.080172.000521

2. Axinte, E. (2011). Glasses as engineering materials: A review. Materials & Design,
32(4), 1717-1732. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2010.11.057
3. Tanguy, A. (2021). Elasto-plastic behavior of amorphous materials: a brief review.
Comptes Rendus. Physique, 22(S3), 117-133. https://doi.org/10.5802/crphys.49
4. Griscom, D. L. (2013). A Minireview of the Natures of Radiation-Induced Point Defects
in Pure and Doped Silica Glasses and Their Visible / Near-IR Absorption Bands, with
Emphasis on Self-Trapped Holes and How They Can Be Controlled. Physics
Research International, 379041. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/379041
5. Jo, W., Kim, D., & Hwang, N. (2006). Effect of Interface Structure on the
Microstructural Evolution of Ceramics. Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 8,
2369–2380. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1551-2916.2006.01160.x
6. Cannio, M., Bellucci, D., Roether, J. A., & Cannillo, V. (2021). Bioactive Glass
Applications: A Literature Review of Human Clinical Trials. Materials, 14, 5440.
https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fma14185440
7. Jo, W., Kim, D., & Hwang, N. (2006). Effect of Interface Structure on the
Microstructural Evolution of Ceramics. Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 8,
2369–2380. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1551-2916.2006.01160.x
8. Vallet-Regí, M. (2001). Ceramics for medical applications. Dalton Perspective, 97–
108. https://doi.org/10.1039/b007852m
9. So, M., Górny, A., Pisarska, J., & Pisarski, W. A. (2018). Electrical and optical
properties of glasses and glass-ceramics. Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 498,
352–363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2018.03.033

This information has been sourced, reviewed, and adapted from materials provided by Mo-
Sci.

For more information on this source, please visit Mo-Sci.

Article Revisions
Oct 8 2024 - Have removed two linked terms that linked to the same URL and have
added new informational URLs.

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