Molecular Structures and Strength-Toughness of Silica and Quartz

TL;DR

This paper models the molecular structures of silica and quartz to predict their strength and toughness, confirming theoretical predictions with experimental data, and providing insights into their atomic-scale properties.

Contribution

It introduces a molecular-level modeling approach for silica and quartz to predict their mechanical properties, validated by experimental data.

Findings

Silica and quartz can be modeled as crystalline materials at the atomic scale.

Theoretical strength and toughness predictions align with experimental data.

Atomic structure influences the mechanical properties of silica-based materials.

Abstract

The molecular structures of amorphous silica and crystalline quartz are used to predict their intrinsic strength and fracture toughness together with the theoretical strength of silicon dioxide. At the atomic scale, the amorphous silica is characterised by the silicon dioxide molecules or crystals around 0.31 nm in diameter. Thus, both silica and quartz can be modelled as crystalline materials. Theoretical predictions are confirmed by experiments data in literature.