Investigation of the dissolution of metallic Silicon spheres in a container glass melt

Abstract

On laboratory scale, metallic silicon spheres obtained from industrial flint glass production and spectroscopically pure silicon were annealed in flint glass, amber glass and green glass cullet melts. The dissolution behavior of sihcon was investigated in the temperature range of 1200 to 1500°C in normal air a nd sulfur dioxide atmosphere. Silicon dissolves by formadon of a thin silicon dioxide layer at the surface of the spheres only at high temperatures and long annealing times. The dissolution of silicon is a process with low reaction rate and a complex reaction mechanism due to interactions of Silicon with oxygen, hydroxide ions and polyvalent ions in the Container glass melt.