Glass leaching, including dissolution and hydrolysis, was introduced to mend surface flaws in ion-exchanged glass. The leaching behavior on the glass surface was analyzed by using a spectrophotometer, AFM, a confocal LCM, a surface stress meter and TEM. The results revealed that a silica-rich nano layer was formed on the surface of the glass after soaking in an acidic solution by dissolution of alkali ions from glass surface, and the formed layer including the flaws on the surface of the glass were completely removed after being exposed to an alkaline solution. We also found that leaching an aqueous solution increased the mechanical strength dramatically in ion-exchanged glass without degradation of surface quality.

Keywords: Ion exchange, Cover glass, Usable strength, Chemical treatment, Silica-rich layer