A NOVEL METHOD OF PREPARATION OF INORGANIC GLASSES BY MICROWAVE IRRADIATION

Microwave heating is shown to provide an extremely facile and automatically temperature-controlled route to the synthesis of glasses. Glass-forming compositions of several traditional and novel glasses were melted in a kitchen microwave oven, typically within 5 min and quenched into glasses. This is only a fraction of the time required in normal glass preparation methods. The rapidity of melting minimizes undesirable features such as loss of components of the glass, variation of oxidation states of metal ions, and oxygen loss leading to reduced products in the glass such as metal particles. This novel procedure of preparation is applicable when at least one of the components of the glass-forming mixture absorbs microwaves. (C) 1994 Acamedic Press, Inc.