Ceramics, Polymers & Composites [Chemistry only]

Glass and clay ceramics

• Soda-lime glass, most of the glass we use, is made by heating a mixture of sand, sodium carbonate and limestone
• Borosilicate glass is made from sand and boron trioxide. It melts at a higher temperature, so it is used for laboratory glassware and ovenware
• Clay ceramics (pottery, bricks) are made by shaping wet clay and then heating it in a furnace, which hardens it permanently
• Ceramics are hard, brittle, insulators, and resist heat and chemicals