This study investigates the effects of electric field-assisted ion exchange (EF-IE) on potassium for sodium ion exchanges of soda borosilicate and soda lime silicate glasses. The results show that applying an electric field (E-field) with the intensity of 1000 V cm-1 for a few minutes produces an exchanged layer with a thickness comparable to the conventional chemical strengthening for four hours. There is a critical E-field that increases the mobility and, therefore, the diffusion coefficient of the potassium ions in the glasses. The increase is, perhaps, related to the evolution of the glass structure due to the penetration of potassium ions under an E-field. Vickers indentations showed that strong compression is generated in the glass by EF-IE; however, the bending strength improvement is limited because of the presence of large surface defects and the stress distribution inhomogeneity.
