Mechanochemical wear of soda lime silicate glass in water: Effect of cations in aqueous solution

Surface flaws and defects of glass are known to be sensitive to the environment to which the glass surface is exposed. Previous investigations indicated that the mechanochemical wear of soda lime silicate (SLS) glass in humid air is associated with the presence of sodium ion leaching and interactions with adsorbed water, but the wear of SLS glass in aqueous solutions remains elusive. In this study, the wear of SLS glass was investigated in aqueous solutions with the presence of various electrolyte cation sizes and valences. The results show that the mechanochemical wear of SLS glass decreases as the concentration of sodium ions in the aqueous solution increases. However, the mechanochemical wear of the SLS glass surface increases with the ion size for solutions with monovalent cations, but significantly decreases with the di- and trivalent cations in aqueous solutions. Further analyzes indicate that the sodium ion migration to the glass surface plays important roles in mechanochemical wear of SLS glass in aqueous solutions, in addition to the ion-exchange and hydrolysis of Si–O–Si network. The findings of this study provide further insights into the mechanochemical damage mechanism of silicate glass in aqueous environments.