Improving the material of glass bottles is expected to enhance the performance of glass bottles.

　　It is reported that foreign professionals are developing new types of glass through the following two methods. The first is to change the content of a certain component in the glass to alter the material itself. The Asolvex I type glass recently created by Saint-Gobain is obtained by reducing the Al2O3 content in glass bottles. The second method involves applying a thin coating with auxiliary properties on the glass surface to improve its surface functional characteristics. In recent years, as competition in the packaging materials market has intensified, the industry's requirements for glass products have also increased, making it a trend to improve glass production processes and develop new types of glass.
　　Asolvex glass is a new type I glass. Type I glass is borosilicate glass, which has chemical resistance. The Al2O3 content in Asolvex glass is reduced by 50% compared to ordinary type I glass, while the silicon content is correspondingly increased, which greatly reduces the precipitation of Al2O3. Under normal non-ionizing water conditions, the precipitation in sodium gluconate solution is even reduced by 75% (the precipitation rate of Al2O3 corresponds to a 20 ml injection bottle maintained at 125°C for 25 minutes).
　　The significant reduction of Al2O3 precipitation provides the possibility for obtaining new packaging materials, as this characteristic is suitable for products sensitive to trace metal elements, such as enzymes or products without preservatives and stabilizers. The application potential of this material is enormous, especially for blood products, nutritional products, biological agents, and genetic engineering drugs.
　　In addition, glass can be coated with any material, such as metals, semiconductors, polymers, etc. Applying thin coatings with thicknesses ranging from 1 nanometer to 1 micron is a relatively simple and inexpensive method that can effectively change the surface properties of glass, especially to improve its crack resistance and moisture resistance.
　　Although the crack resistance of glass is relatively low, its internal fiber strength is very high. Glass is prone to breakage when dropped due to the presence of very small (less than 1 micron) defects on its surface, and cracks extend from these small defects. It is impossible to completely avoid defects during production, but it is possible to reduce or partially minimize these defects. Treating the glass surface with a very thin solution of silicon-containing organic compounds can achieve this purpose. Therefore, silicon molecules similar to glass react with the glass to form a solid network, thus becoming a solid coating that adheres to the glass surface and effectively fills surface cracks.
　　Tests have shown that after treatment with silicon-containing organic compounds, the crack resistance of these glass bottles has increased by 1.5 to 2 times. Existing research will further improve these treatment effects, and in the future, humans are expected to produce nearly unbreakable glass bottles.
　　Certain performance advantages of the glass surface give glass hydrophilic properties, which should be avoided in certain cases. For example, in the pharmaceutical field, avoiding its hydrophilic properties allows people to easily empty all the agents from the glass bottle. Saint-Gobain has launched a research program aimed at solving this problem. By applying a monolayer of hydrophobic molecules with many C-F chemical bonds (with a thickness on the order of molecular diameter) to treat the glass surface, the water wetting angle reaches 120°. Researchers conducted experiments using plant leaves, analyzed their surfaces under an electron microscope, and simulated this structure, adopting nanometer-sized spike structures to retain the transparency of the glass surface. The experiments found that water droplets (visible refractive objects) seem to float on the glass surface, which is undoubtedly good news for developing non-wettable glass.