Glass and Glass-Ceramics Chemistry and Technology Laboratory

Synthesis and technology of new functional glasses and glass-crystalline materials (glass-ceramics).

The laboratory was founded in 1957 as the Laboratory of Inorganic Polymers and now operates as the Laboratory of Glass and Glass-Ceramics Chemistry and Technology. It studies state and glass-formation diagrams and phase transformations in various classes of refractory oxide and oxyhalide systems, and develops synthesis and technologies for new functional glassy, glass-crystalline, crystalline, and nanocomposite materials.

1. Study of state and glass-formation diagrams of new oxyhalide systems and identification of the features and conditions of transition from melts to glassy and crystalline states.

2. Nanoglass-crystalline materials with high transparency, thermal stability, and low dielectric losses for microelectronics.

3. Optical glasses based on alumoborosilicate oxyfluoride systems with a wide range of refractive-index and dispersion-coefficient variation for optical instrumentation.

4. Glassy and glass-crystalline phosphors for LED applications.

5. Bioglass-ceramics for dentistry and implants.

6. Special-purpose glasses and glassy materials, including semiconductors, radiation-resistant and laser-location-protective glasses, and IR-transparent glasses for night-vision devices, including the 20DP-1D05 program on IR-transparent glasses for optical instrumentation and night-vision devices.

7. New compositions and technology for fast-setting high-alumina cement applicable in emergency situations.

Various thematic projects have been carried out through local and international programs, including the 2011 State Committee of Science project “Obtaining glass-crystalline ferroelectric materials by directed crystallization of glasses in alumoborate systems,” the SCS Armenia-Belarus programs of 2014 and 2016, winning international competition programs “MESCS RA SC - RFBR - 2020,” and dual-use programs.

Within the current targeted program, work is being carried out on “Development of radiation-resistant glassy and composite materials protected from laser location.”

Thirteen candidate dissertations have been defended in this field.

The laboratory closely cooperates with local and foreign scientific centers, including institutions in Bulgaria, Belarus, Georgia, the Grebenshchikov Institute of Silicate Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Far Eastern Technical University and Institute of Chemistry, the Tananaev Institute of Chemistry and Technology of Rare Elements and Mineral Raw Materials of the Kola Science Center, and the Kurnakov Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry. Around 400 scientific articles have been published in local and international journals indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. Sixty patents have been obtained, including a joint patent with the Russian Federation.