What is the “excellent” of the new ultra-stable and durable glass

On October 15th, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have successfully created a new type of ultra-stable and durable glass with potential applications including medicine, advanced digital screens and solar cell technology. The study showed that how to mix multiple molecules (up to eight at a time) can produce a material that performs as good as the best glass forming agents currently known.

Glass, also known as “amorphous solid”, is a material without a long-range ordered structure-it does not form crystals. On the other hand, crystalline materials are materials with highly ordered and repeating patterns.

The material we usually call “glass” in daily life is mostly based on silica, but glass can be made of many different materials. Therefore, researchers are always interested in finding new ways to encourage different materials to form this amorphous state, which may lead to the development of new glasses with improved properties and new applications. The new research recently published in the scientific journal “Science Advances” represents an important step forward for the research.

Now, by simply mixing many different molecules, we suddenly opened up the potential to create new and better glass materials. Those who study organic molecules know that using a mixture of two or three different molecules can help form glass, but few can expect that adding more molecules will achieve such excellent results,” the research team led the research. Professor Christian Müller from the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering of Ulms University said.

Best results for any glass forming material

When the liquid cools without crystallization, glass is formed, a process called vitrification. The use of a mixture of two or three molecules to promote glass formation is a mature concept. However, the effect of mixing a large number of molecules on the ability to form glass has received little attention.

The researchers tested a mixture of as many as eight different perylene molecules, which alone have a high brittleness-this characteristic is related to the ease with which the material forms glass. But mixing many molecules together leads to a significant reduction in brittleness and forms a very strong glass former with ultra-low brittleness.

“The brittleness of the glass we made in our research is very low, which represents the best glass-forming ability. We have measured not only any organic material but also polymers and inorganic materials (such as bulk metallic glass). The results are even better than ordinary glass. The glass forming ability of window glass is one of the best glass formers we know,” said Sandra Hultmark, a doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and the lead author of the study.

Extend product life and save resources

Important applications for more stable organic glass are display technologies such as OLED screens and renewable energy technologies such as organic solar cells.

“OLEDs are composed of glass layers of light-emitting organic molecules. If they are more stable, it may increase the durability of the OLED and ultimately the durability of the display,” explained Sandra Hultmark.

Another application that may benefit from more stable glass is drugs. Amorphous drugs dissolve faster, which helps to quickly absorb the active ingredient when ingested. Therefore, many drugs utilize glass-forming drug forms. For drugs, it is vital that the vitreous material does not crystallize over time. The more stable the glassy drug, the longer the shelf life of the drug.

“With more stable glass or new glass forming materials, we can extend the service life of a large number of products, thereby saving resources and economy,” Christian Müller said.

“The vitrification of Xinyuanperylene mixture with ultra-low brittleness” has been published in the scientific journal “Science Advances”.