Quartz Glass
Before getting into applications of Quartz glass, let’s understand what it is? Quartz Glass is made out of an abundantly dispersed mineral called Quartz. It is a common polymorph (two minerals with same chemical compositions but different formations) of silica. Quartz is used to make quartz glass (also known as fused quartz), a glass type that is known for its extreme purity. It is inactive with many chemical elements barring alkali compounds, hydrofluoric acid, and hot phosphoric acid. Other than its purity and it’s inertness with almost every chemical compounds, it has other significant qualities as well, such as –
➢ High temperature resistance – Melting point of quartz glass is slightly above 1700 ℃ so it can easily endure temperature as high as around 1100 ℃
➢ Acid corrosion resistance – It does not react with acids other than hydrofluoric acid and hot phosphoric acid which makes it a better option than other materials like stainless steel and ceramic
➢ Remarkable thermal stability – Sudden changes in temperature won’t damage the material. If the quartz glass is heated at a high temperature, it will not break if put in room temperature water
➢ Good light transmission performance – more than 90% of the visible light spectrum from ultraviolet to infrared can pass through quartz glass showing a higher light transmission performance
➢ Excellent electrical insulation – Quartz glass is about 10,000 times more resistant to electricity than regular glass which makes it a great electrical insulator.
Aforementioned properties make quartz glass an ideal product material for optical devices, lighting systems, refractory systems, furnaces and high temperature equipments. These quartz glass products have a wide range of applications in laboratories for scientific projects, experiments, and research works.
What are applications of Quartz Glass?
Laboratories use chemicals that are reactive, flammable, volatile and require extreme temperatures. Therefore, the equipment and apparatus need to be made of materials that can bear drastic conditions without damaging the integrity of the chemical compounds to get as accurate a result as can be procured. Quartz glass’ physical and chemical attributes makes it one of the most suitable assets for laboratory devices. Quartz glass is used for optical based products such as microscopes, telescopes, lasers, electronic sensors and several other scientific instruments. Majority of laboratory work requires practical testing of elements, for example ashing chemical samples, or which utilises crucibles and tubes made up of quartz glass.
Quartz crucibles are bowl shaped vessels, usually with a lid, that stores and heat substances. The properties of quartz glass make crucibles ideal instruments in laboratories like, ashing chemical samples. Quartz tubes are hollow cylindrical devices and are used in level gauges, x-ray tubes, vacuum tubes, transfer carriers, thermocouple tubes, transfer carriers, CVD, and diffusion procedures. Quartz crucibles and tubes are apt for laboratory devices because
➢ They can survive temperatures as high as 1100 ℃. Other features that make quartz crucibles beneficial for laboratory experiments include being inert to many chemical substances, great insulators of electricity, low thermal expansion rate, good light transmission performance, and consistent quality.
➢ Quartz crucibles are available with or without lids and are available in a series of shapes and sizes like cylindrical, tray, high form, wide form, bitumen, rose, gooch, and porous bottom. Quartz tubes are available in various sizes as well that are customised as per the needs of the user.
Quartz glass can be purchased from anywhere, due to the abundant availability of the mineral. Yet before obtaining quartz glass products one must do a thorough research on the seller and quality of their products. It will ensure a productive and problem-free application of quartz glass for the intended job.
For any more information, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]. M-KUBE TECHNICAL SUPPORT WILL BE HAPPY TO ASSIST, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
