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Updated: Jul 12, 2026
Scalable Solution-processed Fabrication Strategy for High-performance, Flexible, Transparent Electrodes with Embedded Metal Mesh
Published on: June 23, 2017
Scalable fabrication of transparent sodium calcium silicate glass-ceramics by structural engineering overcoming
Weifan Liao1,2, Yunlan Guo1,2, Kaiwen Hu2,3
1State Key Laboratory of Advanced Glass Materials, Wuhan, China.
Abstract:
Transparent glass-ceramics with high crystallinity offer many attractive optical, mechanical, and biomedical properties. However, for glass-ceramics containing crystals with thermal expansion anisotropy, excessive crystallization induces severe microcracking and consequent loss of transparency. Here, we employ structural engineering in the sodium calcium silicate system to mitigate thermal expansion anisotropy through Zr4+ substitution at Ca2+ sites in Na4Ca4Si6O18 crystal and stabilize the crystallized high-temperature polymorph. This strategy overcomes microcrack barriers, enabling large-sized glass-ceramics with high crystallinity ( ~ 93 wt%) and >84% visible transmittance. Validated for biomedical implants (100% cell viability and bioactivity) and fire-resistant windows, the work expands the application scope of the traditional alkali-silicate system towards highly crystalline transparent glass-ceramics for advanced functional uses.
