Borate glasses for scientific and industrial applications: a review

Research in borate glasses has started as a scientific curiosity and as an aid to explain the structure of oxide glasses in general. This effort led to a better understanding of the structure and unique properties of borate glasses. Although silicate and borosilicate glasses satisfy the vast majority of scientific and industrial needs, there are certain circumstances where they are not satisfactory. Furthermore, borate glasses offer certain advantages over silicate glasses which are not well known, neither well explored. However, certain characteristics of borate glasses such as their affinity to water requires that they are well selected, designed, or developed to satisfy the specifications of a given application. This review aims to explore and report some of the key properties of binary borate glasses. It also provides certain guidelines for several applications where the scientific literature is discussed in connection with industrial experience and technological needs.