(226bl) Tin Fluorophosphate Microfiber Manufacutred By Melt State Centrifugal Forcespinning

Phosphate glasses are polymer-like materials that possess many unique properties such as optical transparency, good chemical durability, and high thermal expansion. These properties make phosphate glasses excellent candidates for many applications, ranging from optical components to inorganic-metal sealing materials to packaging. Phosphate glass in fiber form has interesting properties that are not present in the bulk material such as a high surface area to volume ratio and a high degree of anisotropy. However, the production of continuous inorganic phosphate glass fibers remains challenging due to the high melting transition of phosphate glass, typically over 1000 ^oC. Here we present the first demonstration of melt state forcespinning of phosphate glass microfibers from a specially synthesized tin fluorophosphate glass with a low glass transition temperature (T_g). These fibers exhibit excellent thermal stability after being thermally treated, and the T_g of the thermally treated fibers increases by 100 ^oC compared to the bulk material. The compositional and structural evolution of the fibers during thermal treatment and their influence on T_g will be discussed.