A Glass Dielectric Paste for Preparation Transparent Spacers of Vacuum Glass by Screen Printing

Vacuum glass is a new building material with excellent energy conservation and sound insulation properties. Usually, the spacers between two pieces of flat glass substrates are mini-rings of metal. In the present research, the spacers were prepared with a glass dielectric paste by screen printing, and then sintered till them transparent. The glass dielectric paste for the preparation of transparent spacers of vacuum glass was prepared by using low melting glass powder and terpineol ethyl cellulose solution. The composition of the paste with preferable properties was evaluated as in mass percent: organic vehicle 20-25, and low melting glass powder 73-80. The rheological behaviors of the typical paste were characterized by using an ARES (RFS-III) rheometer. It is found that a weak flocculated network structure is formed in the paste for the high solid filler. The spacers were prepared by screen printing the paste on the glass substrate and then sintered. The transparent, Vickers hardness of the spacers as well as the binder forces between the spacers and the substrate is reported. The reliability of the prepared transparent spacers for the vacuum glass was discussed.