The structural effect of water vapor on thermal poling of soda lime glass
Open Access
- Author:
- Schneider, Erik James
- Area of Honors:
- Chemical Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Dr. Seong Han Kim, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Michael John Janik, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Thermal Poling
Soda Lime Glass
Water Vapor Environment
Surface Effects
IR
SR-IR
ATR-IR
Poling Mechanisms - Abstract:
- Thermal poling is an important technique in strengthening and modifying the chemical and mechanical properties of soda-lime glass. This study uses Infrared Spectroscopy (IR) techniques to compare structural changes in the surface of the glass for glasses poled in both a humid environment and an inert environment. The objectives of this thesis were to determine whether and how the presence of water vapor in the environment affect the surface structure of soda-lime glass during poling. Samples were poled in humid (H2O), inert (N2), and deuterated water vapor (D2O) environments for 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, and 40 minutes at 200 C and at an applied voltage of 2 kV. The poled samples were analyzed by SR-IR (specular reflectance) and ATR-IR (attenuated total reflectance) which gave structural information about both the silicon oxygen network and the presence of hydrous species at the surface. Based on the presence of hydrous species in the subsurface region of samples poled in humid environments and the difference in the prevalence of Si-O-Si (bridging oxygen) and Si-O-(non-bridging oxygen) groups over time between inert and humid poled samples, this thesis confirmed that the environment during poling effects surface structure of the soda-lime glass. The SR-IR and ATR-IR spectra suggested different mechanisms for structural rearrangement and likely different charge carriers in the glass based on environment. The next steps in this research would be to further investigate and confirm how exactly these two mechanisms differ.