Use of natural raw material for the production of photochromic glasses

The authors investigated the possibility of using natural raw materials as replacements for soda and alumina for obtaining photochromic glasses and to determine their properties. Glasses of the sodium aluminoborosilicate system were studied. The characteristics of the batches and some of the properties of the glasses are given in a table. Sodium oxide was added to batches Nos. 1 and 2 as soda or borax. Composition Nos. 3, 4, and 5 were prepared using acid, basic, and neutral rocks by means of which the oxides of sodium and aluminum were added. The glasses were synthesized in SiC-heater furnaces. The differential thermal analysis of compositions Nos. 1 and 5 showed that the presence of natural materials leads to the formation of a liquid phase at lower temperatures which helps to intensify the processes of silicate- and glass-formation