Influence of various atmospheres on the surface properties of silicate melts

Abstract

The surface tension of a soda-lime-silica glass melt and some commercial glass melts including an E-glass, a TV panel glass, and a soft borosilicate was measured under various atmospheres. The atmospheres included dry argon, dry air and wet air with varying amount of water vapor using the sessile drop and pendant drop arrangements. In general, the surface tension of melts decreased in the order: dry argon, dry air and wet air. OH- groups from the water vapor in the atmosphere behave as a surface-active species according to the Gibbs adsorption equation and form a monolayer on the surface with certain number of molecules according to the Langmuir adsorption theorem. The number of OH- -like molecules in the monolayer is higher for the melts containing high ionic strength ions.