Enhanced optical properties of glass microspheres using acid thermal integration - Brightness

The glass microspheres(GMSs) is widely used in reflective materials and road applications because of its high mechanical strength, adjustable refractive index and excellent retroreflective properties, so further improvement of the optical properties of GMS is still a current research hotspot. In this work, we prepare the high brightness GMSs using an acid-heat integrated method. The interior of GMSs consists of a silica-oxygen framework and cationic polymers, where a large amount of TiO2 increases the refractive index of GMSs, leading to the retrograde reflection behavior of light in GMSs. After leaching and heat-treatment, the change in surface state and the internal phase transition allow the GMSs to show superior optical properties. In particular, the brightness of GMSs increases from 39 cd*1x−1m−2 to 58 cd*1x−1m−2, and their optical performance meets the requirements for the use of 5G traffic road GMSs.