The main component of traditional glass is silica, which is a bit of an impression of the boron, polymer, and metal doped during the manufacturing process. But recently, researchers at Pennsylvania State University have made a breakthrough – creating a zinc-based “metal organic compound glass”. This material, called ZIF-62, is a zinc atom surrounded by imidazolate and benzimidazolate molecules. This new material is not only easier to form glass, is more flexible, and has the same properties as quartz glass. Pyramid-shaped atomic structure.
Traditionally, silica glass has the best glass forming ability, but the researchers point out that the ZIF-62 performs better. In fact, the ZIF-62 has surpassed the existing 50 glass and is more flexible than silicon-based glass. By adjusting the formulation, the researchers found that the more benzimidazole was added, the better the glass forming ability of the material. Of course, ZIF-62 is not without its drawbacks compared to the silicon-based glass process that has been refined for thousands of years. In the early stages of development, new materials are still difficult to compete with traditional processes. In order to manufacture brand new metal plexiglass, organic compounds must first be formed.
In the future, the researchers also plan to explore other metal plexiglass formulations, including possible cobalt-based glass.
