Surface Damage Resistance Of Gel-Derived Oxycarbide Glasses: Hardness, Toughness And Scratchability

Gel-derived oxycarbide glasses have atomic network structures similar to that of vitreous silica glass but with carbon-rich regions consisting of SCi4 tetrahedra and C-Si-O bonds finely dispersed in the glass. Therefore, oxycarbide glasses exhibit the so-called "anomalous" hardness behaviour, similar to silica-rich glasses, with a substantial densification-strain component beneath the indenter.