Mechanical and Optical Properties of Ion-exchange Strengthened Glass Coated with Sol-Gel Derived ZrO₂-SiO₂ Film

ZrO2-SiO2 films of different SiO2 content were deposited on soda-lime glass substrates through a Sol-Gel process, which was followed by an ion-exchange strengthening process. Phase presents, surface morphology and ion-exchange depth were determined by X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectrometer analysis, respectively. The mechanical and optical properties of coated glass were studied. Homogeneous, continuous and dense films are obtained. Pure ZrO2 film belongs to tetragonal structure, while other films with SiO2 have an amorphous structure. ZrO2-SiO2 films with high ratio (H/E≥0.1) and elastic recovery (We≥60%) were thought to be favourable bending strength. Light transmittance increased, while hardness and Young's modulus de- creased with the increasing SiO2 content in films. Typically, chemical strengthened 0.5ZrO2-0.5SiO2 film coated glass exhibited high bending strength of 393 MPa and high hardness of 18 GPa, and a negligible optical loss in visible re- gion for thin thickness (~45 nm).