Molecular Structures and Strength-Toughness of Silica and Quartz

Abstract: The molecular structures of amorphous silica and crystalline quartz are used to predict their intrinsic strength and fracture toughness together with the theoretical strength of silicon dioxide. At the atomic scale, the amorphous silica is characterised by the silicon dioxide molecules or crystals around 0.31 nm in diameter. Thus, both silica and quartz can be modelled as crystalline materials. Theoretical predictions are confirmed by experiments data in literature.