Russian scientists are developing glass (safety glass) for LG smartphones

Sheets of glass

Russian Chemical-Technological University named after Mendeleev signed a contract with LG CHEM to develop a new glass-ceramic material for use as an unbreakable display in smartphones.

Sitalls are glass-crystalline materials obtained by bulk crystallization of glasses and consisting of one or more crystalline phases uniformly distributed in the glassy phase. There are lithium, boron-barium, magnesium, titanium and other glass metals. Usually they are used for the manufacture of parts requiring strength and heat resistance: instrument housings, chip substrates, rocket fairings, chemically resistant equipment. Mirror substrates for large-sized ground-based and space-based astronomical telescopes are made from ceramic.

But in order to use glass in smartphones and surpass Corning's Gorilla Glass in terms of performance, a new process technology is needed.

The work is being carried out at the Department of Glass and Sitalov RCTU. According to the available information, the new material is stronger than all known types of protective glasses, including the Gorilla Glass coating.

Gorilla Glass is a chemically tempered glass of increased resistance to impact, which is produced by the American corporation Corning. During chemical treatment, sodium ions in the material are replaced by potassium ions. The sixth generation of Corning Gorilla Glass 6 was introduced on July 18, 2018 : it withstands 15 drops on a hard surface from a height of 1 meter: twice as much as Gorilla Glass 5. In addition to smartphones, such glass is used in the automotive industry: for example, it is made from the wind and rear Glasses of a sports car Ford GT.



Attempts to apply sitalls to cover displays are made by leading research centers and large companies. However, the scientists of the Russian Chemical Technical University believe that they are able to implement a fundamentally new approach: they want to develop "glass that can be produced in the form of a thin ribbon with subsequent nanocrystallization and the creation of a thin glass structure."

Russian chemical engineers have not yet announced the timing of the completion of the project. First, the first prototype is to be manufactured, which will be tested in the laboratories of LG CHEM.