Fluorescent Lithium Metasilicate Glass Ceramic for Transparent Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lithium disilicate-based glass ceramics are difficult to process and lack fluorescent properties due to high-temperature volatilization of rare earth elements, making mass production challenging and costly.
Innovation Solution
A fluorescent glass ceramic with optimized composition and heat treatment process, excluding pentavalent/hexavalent metal oxides, uses conventional melting casting or vacuum sintering to maintain valence stability and enhance processing and transparency, featuring a lithium metasilicate crystal structure with controlled Ce4+ to Ce3+ conversion for fluorescence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high-temperature melting is used to prepare lithium metasilicate-based glass ceramic, then the glass ceramic can be formed, but rare earth elements are easily-volatilized and undergo valence change, making it difficult to achieve fluorescent properties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the melting temperature parameter from conventional high temperature (above 1400°C) to a lower temperature range (1200-1400°C), which prevents rare earth element volatilization and maintains their valence state, thereby achieving fluorescent properties while still forming the glass ceramic matrix
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite system by combining lithium metasilicate glass ceramic with specific rare earth elements (Ce, Pr, Nd, Eu, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb) and controlling their interaction at lower temperatures, forming a composite material that exhibits fluorescent properties
2Reliability
If reducing agent or reducing atmosphere is introduced to control valence change of rare earth elements, then fluorescence properties can be achieved, but the production process becomes difficult to control and operating costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the complex reducing atmosphere control system and reducing agents from the production process, achieving fluorescent properties through simple conventional melting casting or vacuum sintering without requiring special reducing conditions, thereby greatly simplifying manufacturing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables the rare earth elements to maintain their valence state and exhibit fluorescent properties through the inherent characteristics of the lithium metasilicate glass ceramic system itself, without requiring external reducing agents or controlled reducing atmosphere, making the system self-sufficient
3Strength
If lithium disilicate-based glass ceramic is used, then excellent translucency and mechanical properties are achieved, but the material is difficult to process by diamond bur due to three-dimensional interweaving crystal structure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the crystal phase composition parameter from lithium disilicate (Li2Si2O5) to lithium metasilicate (Li2SiO3), which fundamentally alters the crystal structure from three-dimensional interweaving to a more easily processable structure, while maintaining excellent mechanical properties and translucency
4Ease of manufacture
If lithium metasilicate-based glass ceramic is used to improve processing ease, then the material becomes easy to process, but it lacks fluorescent effect and achieves poor aesthetic properties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite material system by combining lithium metasilicate glass ceramic with specific rare earth elements (Ce, Pr, Nd, Eu, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb) in controlled amounts, which endows the easily processable glass ceramic with fluorescent properties, thereby achieving both processing ease and aesthetic properties
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution results in a glass ceramic with excellent fluorescence under UV light, high transparency, and easy processing, enabling mass production with reduced operational costs and improved aesthetic properties.
Implementation Method 1
rare earth elements with a fluorescent effect are easily-volatilized at high temperature above 1,400° C., and undergo valence change under oxidative conditions
Implementation Method 2
a fluorescent glass ceramic with optimized composition and heat treatment process, excluding pentavalent/hexavalent metal oxides, uses conventional melting casting or vacuum sintering to maintain valence stability and enhance processing and transparency, featuring a lithium metasilicate crystal structure with controlled Ce4+ to Ce3+ conversion for fluorescence
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a fluorescent glass ceramic with high transparency and a preparation method and use thereof. The fluorescent glass ceramic includes the following raw materials by mass percentage: 63 wt % to 70 wt % of SiO2, 13 wt % to 16 wt % of Li2O, 1 wt % to 6 wt % of Al2O3, 1 wt % to 10 wt % of K2O, 2 wt % to 6 wt % of P2O5, 0.5 wt % to 3.5 wt % of CeO2, 0 wt % to 4 wt % of an additive, 1 wt % to 4 wt % of a lanthanide oxide with an atomic number of 59 to 71, and 0 wt % to 8 wt % of a colorant. The fluorescent glass ceramic has a lithium metasilicate crystal as a principal crystalline phase, and the lithium metasilicate crystal has a layered or plate-like structure and a grain size of 0.1 μm to 1.5 μm.