Aqueous Corrosion of Glass

The degradation of glass surface due to reactions with water is called aqueous corrosion. Such corrosion can occur when glass is exposed to water-containing environments such as humid air, liquid water, or aqueous solutions containing ions or electrolytes. Comprehensive understanding of aqueous corrosion behaviors is very important to design glass composition and manufacturing process for specific functions or performances. When glass is used as a host matrix for nuclear waste, it should have a chemical durability of glass for hundreds of thousands of years. Even for a container glass used for storage of liquid or gas, aqueous corrosion can affect its mechanical durability. In the first part of this chapter, recent findings about various stages of aqueous corrosion of glass are presented with deeper insights on the chemical and structural properties of the alteration layer. Kinetics models are then briefly presented that show attempts to understand and predict glass corrosion behaviors in specific conditions. Near-field materials and electrolytes have also been shown to significantly affect glass corrosion and their effects on the corrosion process are shown in the third part. Atmospheric corrosion, vapor phase hydration, and corrosion of pharmaceutical glass are then briefly discussed. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future research of glass corrosion.