More information: http://www.guidechem.com/cas-763/7631-86-9.

html

Amorphous silica

Name:Amorphous silica EINECS:231-545-4 Molecular Formula:SiO2 CAS Registry Number:7631-86-9 Synonyms:Silica Dioxide; Diatomaceous earth; Silicic anhydride; InChI:InChI=1/O2Si/c1-3-2 HS Code:28112200 Appearance:white crystals or powder Molecular Weight:60.08 Density:2.6 Boiling Point:>100?C(lit.) Melting Point:1610 Flash Point:n/a Storage Temperature:Refrigerator (+4C) Refractive index:1.46 Solubility:insoluble Stability:Stable. Usage:Manufacture glass, water glass, refractories, abrasives, ceramics, enamels, in scouring-& grinding-compd, ferrosilicon, molds for castings, decolorizing & purifying oils, petroleum products, etc.

More information: http://www.guidechem.com/cas-763/7631-86-9.html

Silicon dioxide, also known as silica , is a chemical compound that is a dioxide of silicon with the chemical formula SiO2. It has been known since ancient times. Silica is most commonly found in nature as quartz, as well as in various living organisms,Silica is one of the most complex and most abundant families of materials, existing both as several minerals and being produced synthetically. Notable examples include fused quartz, crystal, fumed silica, silica gel, and aerogels. Applications range from structural materials to microelectronics to components used in the food industry. Amorphous silicon (a-Si) is the non-crystalline allotropic form of silicon. It can be deposited in thin films at low temperatures onto a variety of substrates. It offers some unique capabilities for a variety of electronics. Silicon is a fourfold coordinated atom that is normally tetrahedrally bonded to four neighboring silicon atoms. In crystalline silicon (c-Si) this tetrahedral structure continues over a large range, thus forming a well-ordered crystal lattice. In amorphous silicon this long range order is not present. Rather, the atoms form a continuous random network. Moreover, not all the atoms within amorphous silicon are fourfold coordinated. Due to the disordered nature of the material some atoms have a dangling bond. Physically, these dangling bonds represent defects in the continuous random network and may cause anomalous electrical behavior. Likewise, the material can be passivated by hydrogen, which bonds to the dangling bonds and can reduce the dangling bond density by several orders of magnitude. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) has a sufficiently low amount of defects to be used within devices such as solar photovoltaic cells, particularly in the protocrystalline growth regime. However, hydrogenation is unfortunately associated with light-induced degradation of the material, termed the StaeblerWronski effect.