Clear glass composition

Description of the invention

The subject of the invention is float glass. More specifically, the invention relates to glass with high visible light transmission and / or a fairly neutral color. Such glass compositions are therefore useful in, for example, building windows, patterned glass products, solar cells and / or automotive glazing.

Glass which is fairly clear in color and highly transparent to visible light is sometimes needed (e.g., a transmittance of at least 75%, or even more preferably a transmittance of at least 80%). One way to obtain such glass is to use very pure glass bases (e.g., substantially free of dyes such as iron). However, high-purity base materials are expensive and therefore not always desirable and / or convenient. In other words, for example, the removal of iron from glass raw materials has certain practical and / or economic limits.

As can be seen, the glass raw materials (e.g., silica, sodium carbonate, dolomite and / or limestone) typically contain some impurities such as iron. The total amount of iron is expressed in the specification as Fe2O3 in accordance with standard practice. However, typically not all of the iron is in the form of Fe2O3. Instead, iron is in a divalent state (Fe²⁺; expressed herein as FeO, even though not all of the divalent iron in the glass is in the FeO form) and in the trivalent state (Fe³⁺). Iron in the divalent state (Fe²⁺; FeO) is a cyan dye, while iron in the trivalent state (Fe³⁺) is a yellow-green dye. The blue-green dye of bivalent iron (Fe²⁺; FeO) is a particular problem when trying to obtain fairly clear or neutral colored glass because, as a strong tinting agent, it introduces a distinct color into the glass. Although iron in the trivalent state (Fe³⁺) is also a coloring agent, it presents fewer problems when trying to obtain a fairly clear colored glass, since iron in the trivalent state is a weaker coloring agent than its bivalent counterpart.

In view of the above, it is evident that there is a need in the art for a novel glass composition that allows a glass with a fairly clear color and / or high visible light transmission to be obtained without resorting to the use of extremely pure (i.e. iron-free) raw materials. glass.

The object of the invention is to provide a glass which has a fairly transparent color and / or a high visible light transmission.

The subject of the invention is float glass containing:

SiO2 67-75% by weight,

Na2O 10-20% by weight,

5-15% by weight, 0-5% by weight, 0-5% by weight, 0-5% by weight,

CaO

MgO

Al2O3

K2O characterized by the fact that it also contains:

total iron (expressed as Fe2O3) from 0.03 to 0.15% by weight, erbium oxide from 0.03 to 0.13% by weight, cerium oxide from 0.03 to 0.12% by weight, and optionally neodymium oxide from 0 up to 0.15% by weight, with the glass having a visible light transmission of at least 75%, color a * value for transmission -1.0 to +1.0, and color b * value for transmission -1.0 to +1, 5.

Preferably, the glass further comprises from 0.005 to 0.15% neodymium oxide, even more preferably from 0.010 to 0.050% neodymium oxide.

Preferably the glass has a redox value (FeO / Fe2O3) <= 0.20, even more preferably a redox value (FeO / Fe2O3) <= 0.15 and most preferably a redox value (FeO / Fe2O3) <= 0.13.

Preferably, the glass according to the invention further comprises 0.020% or less FeO, even more preferably 0.015% or less FeO, and most preferably 0.011% or less FeO.

Preferably, the glass has a visible transmission of at least 80%, more preferably of at least 85%.

The final float glass according to the invention can be obtained by preparing a glazing set including:

Ingredient% by weight

SiO2 67-75%

Na2O 10-20%

PL 213 977 B1

CaO 5-15%

MgO 0-5%

Al2O3 0-5%

K2O 0-5% total iron (expressed as Fe2O3) 0.03 to 0.15% erbium oxide 0.003 to 0.13% cerium oxide and / or nitrate 0.03 to 0.12.0% neodymium oxide 0.005 to 0, 15%;

melting the above assembly and producing a glass that has a visible light transmission of at least 75%, a color value a * for transmitting -1.0 to +1.0, and a color value b * for transmitting -1.0 to +1.5 .

The glasses of various embodiments of the present invention may be used, e.g., in the automotive industry (e.g., windshields, taillights, side windows, etc.), in building applications, as patterned glass, in solar cells, and / or other suitable applications.

Certain glasses of the present invention use a soda lime silicate float glass as the base / glass composition. In addition to the base / glass composition, a unique colorant is used to obtain a glass that has a fairly clear color and / or has a high visible light transmission. Exemplary soda-lime-silicate glassware according to certain embodiments of this invention, as a percentage by weight, includes the following essential ingredients:

Table 1: Sample base glass

<td>Ingredient</td><td>% by weight</td>

<td>SiO2</td><td> 67-75%</td>

<td>Na2O</td><td> 10-20%</td>

<td>CaO</td><td> 5-15%</td>

<td>MgO</td><td> 0-5%</td>

<td>Al2O3</td><td> 0-5%</td>

<td>K2O</td><td> 0-5%</td>

<td>BaO</td><td> 0-1%</td>

Other minor components, including various conventional fining agents such as SO3, carbon, and the like, may also be included in the base glass. In some embodiments, for example, the glass of the invention can be made from batch raw materials such as silica sand, sodium carbonate, dolomite, limestone, using technical sodium sulfate (SO3) and / or bitter salt (e.g., a mixture of about 1: 1 of both) as clarifiers. Preferably, the soda-lime-silicate glasses of the invention comprise from about 10-15% Na2O by weight and from about 6-12% CaO by weight. While the soda-lime-silicate glass base set forth above is preferred in certain embodiments of the present invention, the invention is not limited thereto. Thus, other base glasses (e.g., borosilicate glass) may be used interchangeably in alternative embodiments of this invention.

In addition to the base glass (e.g., see Table 1 above), in the manufacture of the glass of the present invention, the glazing assembly includes materials (including colorants and / or oxidants) that impart a fairly transparent neutral tint and / or high visible light transmission to the resulting glass. Such substances may be present in the raw materials (e.g., small amounts of iron), or may be added to the basic components of the glass in the kit (e.g., cerium, erbium, etc.). The resulting glass has a visible transmission of at least 75%, more preferably of at least 80%, and most preferably of at least 85%.

In certain embodiments of this invention, in addition to the base glass, the glazing assembly includes the materials listed in Table 2 below (based on the weight percent of the total glass composition):

Table 2: An exemplary glazing set

<td>Ingredient</td><td>Overall (wt.%)</td><td>Favorable</td><td>Most preferably</td>

<td>total iron (expressed as Fe2O3):</td><td> 0,01-0,30%</td><td> 0,02-0,20%</td><td> 0,03-0,15%</td>

<td>erbium oxide (e.g. Er2O3):</td><td> 0,01-0,30%</td><td> 0,02-0,20%</td><td> 0,03-0,13%</td>

<td>cerium oxide (e.g. CeO2):</td><td> 0,005-0,30%</td><td> 0,01-0,18%</td><td> 0,03-0,12%</td>

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The assembly melts and forms glass using the known float process. Alternatively, in certain example embodiments of this invention, neodymium oxide (e.g., Nd2O3) may be added to the kit as shown below in Table 3 in accordance with a second example embodiment of this invention (the substances listed in Table 3 are additives to the base glass described above).

Table 3: An exemplary glazing set in the second variant

<td>Ingredient</td><td>Overall (wt.%)</td><td>Favorable</td><td>Most preferably</td>

<td>total iron (expressed as Fe2O3):</td><td> 0,01-0,30%</td><td> 0,02-0,20%</td><td> 0,03-0,15%</td>

<td>erbium oxide (e.g. Er2O3):</td><td> 0,01-0,30%</td><td> 0,02-0,20%</td><td> 0,03-0,13%</td>

<td>cerium oxide (e.g. CeO₂):</td><td> 0,005-0,30%</td><td> 0,01-0,18%</td><td> 0,03-0,12%</td>

<td>neodymium oxide (e.g., Nd2O3):</td><td> 0,005-0,15%</td><td> 0,010-0,050%</td><td> 0,010-0,030%</td>

In certain embodiments of this invention (e.g., the first and / or second embodiment above), the dye portion is substantially free of other coloring agents (other than potentially trace amounts). However, it should be appreciated that certain amounts of other substances (e.g., fining agents, fluxes, colorants, and / or impurities) may be present in the glass in certain other embodiments of this invention without departing from the purpose and / or purpose (s) of the present invention. It should be noted that while the presence of cerium oxide is preferred in many embodiments of the present invention, it is not required in all of the embodiments. Moreover, it is possible to use little or no Er in certain embodiments of this invention.

In other embodiments of the present invention, cerium oxide (e.g., CeO2) may be replaced or supplemented with NaNO3 in the glazing unit; see third, fourth and fifth variations below (the material sets in Tables 4-6 below are additions to the base glass materials described above).

Table: 4: An exemplary glazing set in the third variant

<td>Ingredient</td><td>Overall (wt.%)</td><td>Favorable</td><td>Most preferably</td>

<td>total iron (expressed as Fe2O3):</td><td> 0,01-0,30%</td><td> 0,02-0,20%</td><td> 0,03-0,15%</td>

<td>erbium oxide (e.g. Er₂ABOUT₃):</td><td> 0,01-0,30%</td><td> 0,02-0,20%</td><td> 0,03-0,13%</td>

<td>sodium nitrate (NaNO3):</td><td> 0,1-2,0%</td><td> 0,2-1,5%</td><td> 0,3-1,2%</td>

Table 5: An exemplary glazing set in the fourth variant

<td>Ingredient</td><td>Overall (wt.%)</td><td>Favorable</td><td>Most preferably</td>

<td>total iron (expressed as Fe2O3):</td><td> 0,01-0,30%</td><td> 0,02-0,20%</td><td> 0,03-0,15%</td>

<td>erbium oxide (e.g. Er2O₃):</td><td> 0,01-0,30%</td><td> 0,02-0,20%</td><td> 0,03-0,13%</td>

<td>sodium nitrate (NaNO₃):</td><td> 0,1-2,0%</td><td> 0,2-1,5%</td><td> 0,3-1,2%</td>

<td>neodymium oxide (e.g., Nd2O₃):</td><td> 0,005-0,15%</td><td> 0,010-0,050%</td><td> 0,010-0,030%</td>

Table 6: An exemplary glazing set in the fifth variant

<td>Ingredient</td><td>Overall (wt.%)</td><td>Favorable</td><td>Most preferably</td>

<td>total iron (expressed as Fe2O3):</td><td> 0,01-0,30%</td><td> 0,02-0,20%</td><td> 0,03-0,15%</td>

<td>erbium oxide (e.g. Er2O₃):</td><td> 0,01-0,30%</td><td> 0,02-0,20%</td><td> 0,03-0,13%</td>

<td>cerium oxide (e.g. CeO2):</td><td> 0-0,30%</td><td> 0-0,18%</td><td> 0-0,12%</td>

<td>sodium nitrate (NaNO₃):</td><td> 0-2,0%</td><td> 0,2-1,5%</td><td> 0,3-1,2%</td>

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In a fifth embodiment (see Table 6 above), cerium oxide (e.g., CeO2) and sodium nitrate (NaNO3) can be combined as oxidants to effect equations (1) and (2) below. Accordingly, in a fifth embodiment, one or both of cerium oxide and / or sodium nitrate may be used.

It should be noted that in some embodiments of the invention, the total amount of iron may even be less than 0.10%.

The above sets are melted and a float process is used to make glass (e.g., soda lime silicate glass) in a known manner.

The total amount of iron present in the glazing batch and in the resulting glass, that is, in its coloring part, is expressed in terms of Fe2O3 in accordance with standard practice in the invention. This, however, does not mean that all iron is essentially in the form of Fe2O3 (see discussion above). Similarly, the amount of iron in the bivalent state (Fe²⁺) is given in the invention as FeO, even if not all of the divalent iron in the glazing batch or glass is not in the FeO form. As mentioned above, iron in the divalent state (Fe²⁺; FeO) is a blue-green pigment, while iron in the trivalent state (Fe²⁺) is a yellow-green coloring agent; The bluish-green bivalent iron dye is especially important because, as a strong colorant, it introduces a distinct tint to the glass which can sometimes be undesirable when a neutral or transparent color is needed.

In accordance with certain example embodiments of this invention, the presence of cerium oxide (e.g., CeO2) as an oxidant in the glazing batch acts as a chemical decolorizer because, upon fusing the batch, it oxidizes iron in the divalent state (Fe²⁺; FeO) to a trivalent state (Fe³⁺) as illustrated in the following equation:

Fe²⁺ + Ce⁴⁺ = Fe³⁺ + Ce³⁺ (1)

Equation (1) shows that the presence of cerium oxide in the batch causes some of the strong blue-green dye of divalent iron (Fe²⁺; FeO) is oxidized to a weaker yellow-green dye of trivalent iron (Fe³⁺) during glass melting (note: some of the iron in the bivalent state will usually remain in the resulting glass, and potentially some of the Ce). Accordingly, a significant proportion of the CeO2 added to the initial batch before melting is converted to Ce2O3 which is present in the resulting glass on fusion. Said iron oxidation weakens the color of the glass and does not significantly reduce the visible light transmission of the resulting glass (in some cases, it may even increase the visible transmission). However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that there is still significant discoloration in the glass caused by trivalent iron if only iron and cerium oxide are present. In other words, it has been found that adding cerium oxide to a glass containing only iron is not sufficient to achieve the desired fairly clear or neutral color.

It should be noted that, similar to Fe2O3, the phrase cerium oxide used in the invention refers to total cerium oxide (i.e., includes cerium oxide in the Ce states⁴⁺ and Ce³⁺).

As mentioned above, cerium oxide may be replaced or supplemented with sodium nitrate in certain example embodiments of this invention. In embodiments where sodium nitrate (NaNO3) is present in the glass (e.g., see Tables 3-5 above), it acts in a manner similar to cerium oxide as shown in the equation below (but note the possibility of oxygen bubble formation). In particular, like cerium oxide, sodium nitrate can be added to the glazing batch as an oxidant to oxidize some of the strong blue-green divalent iron (Fe²⁺; FeO) to a weaker yellow-green dye of trivalent iron (Fe³⁺) when melting glass (note: some of the iron in the bivalent state will usually remain in the resulting glass):

Fe²+ + NO3 = Fe³+ + NO2 + / 02 (2)

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that most of the nitrate (e.g., sodium nitrate) added to the glazing assembly breaks down on fusing such that some parts burn out as Nox while other parts end up in the glass as Na2O. Although sodium nitrate (NaNO3) is used as the oxidant in Tables 4-6 above, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, other nitrates (e.g., potassium nitrate KNO3, or any other suitable nitrate) may be used in place of or in addition to sodium nitrate in alternative embodiments of this invention.

To compensate for the coloration caused by trivalent iron resulting from the addition of cerium oxide and / or sodium nitrate, it has been noted that the addition of erbium oxide (e.g., Er2O3 or any other appropriately stoichiometric form) and / or neodymium oxide (e.g., Nd2O3 or any other

Other suitably stoichiometric form) results in a clearer color of the resulting glass (i.e., more neutral as the a * and / or b * color values ​​shift to neutral 0). Erbium oxide acts as a pink coloring agent while neodymium oxide acts as a purple coloring agent. One or both of Er and / or Nd clearly acts as a physical iron color compensator, thereby producing a more neutral tint to the glass which is desirable in certain embodiments of this invention while the glass still retains high visible transmission.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that adding cerium oxide and / or sodium nitrate (see equations (1) and (2) above) produces a glass with a lower redox value (i.e., less iron in the divalent FeO state). In this regard, the total divalent iron (FeO) content is used to define the redox state of the glass, and the redox state is expressed as the ratio of FeO / Fe2O3, which is the percentage by weight (%) of divalent iron (FeO) divided by the redox state of the glass. as a percentage by weight (%) of total iron (expressed as Fe2O3) in the glass formed. Due to the presence of cerium oxide and / or sodium nitrate, the redox state of the glass according to certain example embodiments of this invention is rather low; in particular, the glass according to certain example embodiments of this invention may have a redox value (i.e., FeO / Fe2O3) less than or equal to 0.25, more preferably less than or equal to 0.20; even more preferably less than or equal to 0.15, and most preferably less than or equal to 0.13. In addition, the resultant glass according to certain example embodiments of this invention may contain divalent iron (FeO) in an amount (wt%) of less than or equal to 0.020%, more preferably less than or equal to 0.015%, and most preferably less than or equal to 0.011%.

It should be noted that the glass of the present invention is often produced by the known float process which uses a tin bath. Thus, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, as a result of making glass over molten tin in certain example embodiments, small amounts of tin or tin oxide may migrate to the glass surfaces on the side contacting the tin bath during manufacture (i.e., typically, float glass may exhibit tin oxide concentration of 0.05% or more (by weight) in the first few micrometers below the surface that was in contact with the tin bath).

In view of the foregoing, glasses in accordance with certain example embodiments of this invention achieve neutral or substantially transparent color and / or high visible transmission. In certain embodiments, the resultant glasses in accordance with certain example embodiments of this invention may be characterized by one or more of the following optical transmission characteristics or color characteristics when measured at a thickness of about 1 mm - 6 mm (most preferably about 5.63 mm (0.219 inch) thick; this is non-limiting amount of thickness used only for comparison) (Lta is visible light transmittance in%):

Table 7: Characteristics of some exemplary varieties

<td>Characteristic</td><td>Generally</td><td>More advantageously</td><td>Most preferably</td>

<td>Lta (III. C. 2 °):</td><td> &gt;=75%</td><td> &gt;=80%</td><td> &gt;=85%</td>

<td>% Of UV (III. C. 2 °):</td><td> &lt;=85%</td><td> &lt;=80%</td><td> &lt;=75%</td>

<td>% TS (III. C. 2 °):</td><td> &lt;=90%</td><td> &lt;=87%</td><td> &lt;=85%</td>

<td>% FeO (wt%):</td><td> &lt;=0,020%</td><td> &lt;=0,015%</td><td> &lt;=0,011%</td>

<td>L * (III. D65, 10 °):</td><td> 90-100</td><td>on</td><td>on</td>

<td>a * (III. D65, 10 °):</td><td>-1.0 to +1.0</td><td>-0.60 to +0.60</td><td>-0.30 to +0.50</td>

<td>b * (III. D65, 10 °):</td><td>-1.0 to +1.5</td><td>-0.70 to +1.0</td><td>-0.30 to +0.40</td>

As can be seen from Table 7 above, the glasses of some embodiments of the present invention achieve the desired characteristics of fairly clear color and / or high visible light transmission without requiring iron removal from the glass composition. This can be achieved by using the unique combinations of substances described in the invention.

Examples

Exemplary glasses of the present invention can be made from the kit components using well known glass melting and refining techniques. The following approximate base kit was used for the examples of the invention (Note: the kit components listed below are summarized to

100% by weight when their oxides are included; thus, they do not have to add up to a hundred as resources):

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<td>Component of the base glass set</td><td>Parts by weight</td>

<td>sand</td><td> 71,5</td>

<td>sodium carbonate (soda ash)</td><td> 23,7</td>

<td>dolomite</td><td> 18,32</td>

<td>limestone</td><td> 6,1</td>

<td>bitter salt</td><td> 0,9</td>

In addition to the materials of the base set as above, the substances listed below were present in the initial set (s) in the examples (amounts of compounds in% by weight). It should be noted that Examples 1-8 are in accordance with various exemplary embodiments of the invention, while CA, CB, and CC are comparative examples provided for comparison with Examples 1-8. In particular, comparative example A (CA) should be compared with examples 1-3 of the present invention as they all have the same amount of total iron, while comparative example B (CB) should be compared with examples 4-5 of the present invention. since they all have the same amount of total iron, comparative example C (CC) should be compared with examples 6-8 of the present invention, because they all have the same amount of total iron.

Substances in kits in examples 1-8 (outside the base kit)

<td>Relationship</td><td>CA</td><td>Ex. 1</td><td>Ex. 2</td><td>Ex. 3</td><td>CB</td><td>Ex. 4</td><td>Ex. 5</td><td>CC</td><td>Ex. 6</td><td>Ex. 7</td><td>Ex. 8</td>

<td>Fe2O3:</td><td> 0,102</td><td> 0,102</td><td> 0,102</td><td> 0,102</td><td> 0,09</td><td> 0,09</td><td> 0,09</td><td> 0,033</td><td> 0,033</td><td> 0,033</td><td> 0,033</td>

<td>Er2O3:</td><td> 0</td><td> 0,06</td><td> 0,08</td><td> 0,110</td><td> 0,086</td><td> 0,08</td><td> 0</td><td> 0</td><td> 0,10</td><td> 0,09</td><td></td>

<td>CeO2:</td><td> 0</td><td> 0,035</td><td> 0,035</td><td> 0,035</td><td> 0</td><td> 0,066</td><td> 0,06</td><td> 0</td><td> 0,08</td><td> 0,10</td><td> 0,09</td>

<td>Nd2O3:</td><td> 0</td><td> 0</td><td> 0</td><td> 0</td><td> 0</td><td> 0</td><td> 0</td><td> 0,02</td><td> 0,02</td><td> 0,03</td><td> 0,025</td>

The assemblies were melted and glass formed using known techniques. The solar performance of the resulting exemplary glasses was as listed in the table below, with the following measurements taken after melting and forming the glass. Note that Lta (% visible transmission),% UV transmission, and% TS were measured using observer III. C, 2 °, while transmission color coordinates L *, a * and b * (CIE) were measured using observer Ill. D65, 10 °. Also, Dom. λ is the dominant wavelength, and Pe is the purity of the excitation. The glass samples were all approximately 0.219 inches (5.5-5.6 mm) thick.

Characteristics of the glasses of Examples 1-8

<td>Feature</td><td>CA</td><td>Ex. 1</td><td>Ex. 2</td><td>Ex. 3</td><td>CB</td><td>Ex. 4</td><td>Ex. 5</td><td>CC</td><td>Ex. 6</td><td>Ex. 7</td><td>Ex. 8</td>

<td>% Lta</td><td> 88,4</td><td> 88,0</td><td> 87,7</td><td> 86,2</td><td> 88,8</td><td> 89,7</td><td> 89,4</td><td> 88,0</td><td> 89,6</td><td> 89,0</td><td> 88,5</td>

<td>% UV</td><td> 74,5</td><td> 68,9</td><td> 74,8</td><td> 73,6</td><td> 76,9</td><td> 65,9</td><td> 66,4</td><td> 76,2</td><td> 65,9</td><td> 63,2</td><td> 63,6</td>

<td>% TS</td><td> 79,6</td><td> 83,1</td><td> 81,3</td><td> 79,8</td><td> 79,2</td><td> 84,5</td><td> 84,0</td><td> 79,5</td><td> 84,9</td><td> 86,0</td><td> 84,9</td>

<td>FeO (% wt.)</td><td> 0,0232</td><td> 0,011</td><td> 0,0177</td><td> 0,0191</td><td> 0,0254</td><td> 0,009</td><td> 0,0104</td><td> 0,023</td><td> 0,0079</td><td> 0,0042</td><td> 0,0065</td>

<td>House. λ (nm)</td><td> 498</td><td> 562</td><td> 487</td><td> 487</td><td> 493</td><td> 573</td><td> 564</td><td> 492</td><td> 537</td><td> 566</td><td> 581</td>

<td>Pe%</td><td> 0,64</td><td> 0,37</td><td> 0,24</td><td> 0,22</td><td> 0,9</td><td> 0,48</td><td> 0,27</td><td> 0,96</td><td> 0,25</td><td> 0,07</td><td> 0,07</td>

<td>L *</td><td> 95,5</td><td> 95,2</td><td> 95,1</td><td> 94,4</td><td> 95,7</td><td> 95,8</td><td> 95,7</td><td> 93,6</td><td> 95,9</td><td> 95,6</td><td> 95,4</td>

<td>AND*</td><td> -1,54</td><td> -0,34</td><td> -,018</td><td> -0,15</td><td> -1,49</td><td> -0,1</td><td> -0,21</td><td> -1,41</td><td> -0,72</td><td> 0,009</td><td> -0,05</td>

<td>B *</td><td> 0,24</td><td> 0,51</td><td> -0,12</td><td> -0,11</td><td> -0,15</td><td> 0,58</td><td> 0,39</td><td> -0,29</td><td> 0,47</td><td> 0,11</td><td> 0,14</td>

It can be seen from the above that glasses of different embodiments of the present invention (Examples 1-8) provide one or more of the following exemplary advantages over the glasses of comparative examples (CA, CB, and CC): (i) glasses of Examples 1-8 they have bar8

A more neutral color than the corresponding glasses of comparative examples CA, CB and CC (note that the comparative examples do not include erbium or cerium); (ii) the glasses of Examples 1-8 contain less FeO (i.e., less iron in the bivalent state) than the glasses of the corresponding Examples (CA, CB and CC), even though the corresponding compared glasses of the Examples and Comparative Examples contained the same amount of total iron; and / or (iii) glasses according to examples 1-8 had lower excitation purity (Pe) than glasses of the corresponding comparative examples CA, CB and CC. High visible transmission (Lta) was maintained in Examples 1-8.

Regarding the color, it can be seen, for example, that the glass of Example 1 had a much more neutral a * color than CA (i.e., a * was closer to zero in Example 1 than in CA); cf. a * = -0.34 from Example 1 for * = -1.54 from Comparative Example A (CA). In a similar manner it can be seen, for example, that the glass of Example 4 had a much more neutral color a * than CB (i.e., a * was closer to zero in Example 4 than in CB); cf. a * = -0.1 from Example 4 for * = -1.49 from Comparative Example B (CB). In a similar manner it can be seen, for example, that the glass of Example 7 had a much more neutral color a * than CC (i.e., a * closer to zero in Example 7 than in CC); cf. a * = 0.09 from example 7 for * = -1.41 from comparative example C (CC). The improved neutral color of the exemplary embodiments of this invention is a result of the unique combinations of materials used in glasses according to the exemplary embodiments of this invention.

It should be noted that in each of Examples 1-8 above, cerium oxide may be replaced with sodium nitrate in certain embodiments of the present invention (see Tables 4-6 above). Some examples according to other embodiments of the present invention are set out below (same base glass as above for the other examples) where Examples 10-11 use sodium nitrate in place of or in addition to cerium oxide. It should be noted that Examples 9-11 differed from Examples 1-8 above in that in Examples 9-11 each glass sample was only 0.161 inches (4.089 mm) thick.

Substances in kits in examples 9-11 (outside the base kit)

<td>Relationship</td><td>Ex. 9</td><td>Ex. 10</td><td>Ex. 11</td>

<td>Fe2O3:</td><td> 0,054</td><td> 0,055</td><td> 0,048</td>

<td>E ^ Oa:</td><td> 0,06</td><td> 0</td><td> 0</td>

<td>CeO2:</td><td> 0,06</td><td> 0,09</td><td> 0</td>

<td>NaNOa:</td><td> 0</td><td> 0,5</td><td> 0,78</td>

<td>M2O3:</td><td> 0</td><td> 0</td><td> 0</td>

The above assemblies were melted and glass formed using known techniques. The solar performance of the resulting exemplary glasses was as listed in the table below, when measured after melting and shaping the glass.

Characteristics of the glasses of Examples 9-11

<td>Feature</td><td>Ex. 9</td><td>Ex. 10</td><td>Ex. 11</td>

<td>% Lta</td><td> 90,43</td><td> 91,32</td><td> 90,75</td>

<td>% UV</td><td> 71,81</td><td> 72,63</td><td> 77,73</td>

<td>% TS</td><td> 87,78</td><td> 90,54</td><td> 88,14</td>

<td>FeO (wt.%)</td><td> 0,0031</td><td> 0,0007</td><td> 0,0048</td>

<td>House. λ (nm)</td><td> 578</td><td> 570</td><td> 566</td>

<td>Pe%</td><td> 0,63</td><td> 0,41</td><td> 0,53</td>

<td>L *</td><td> 96,11</td><td> 96,52</td><td> 96,29</td>

<td>and*</td><td> 0,09</td><td> -0,18</td><td> -0,36</td>

<td>b *</td><td> 0,67</td><td> 0,5</td><td> 0,67</td>

As with the previous examples, it can be seen that the glasses of Examples 9-11 have improved (more neutral) color and high visible light transmission compared to the reference examples, albeit with a reduced thickness. Note that in the examples

9-11 used less total iron than examples 1-8. Examples 9-11 show that

In accordance with certain example embodiments of this invention, the glass may even have a visible transmission of at least 90% with a reference thickness of about 0.161 inches (4.089 mm).

The terms and characteristics of ultraviolet light transmittance (% UV), dominant wavelength, and excitation purity (ie,% purity, or Pe) are terms well understood in the art as well as techniques for measuring them. Such terms are used herein with their well-known meanings, e.g., see US Patent No. 5,308,805. In particular, the ultraviolet transmission (% UV) is measured using a Parry Moon Air Mass = 2 (300-400 nm inclusive, integrated according to the Simpson rule at 10 nm intervals). The dominant wavelength (DW) is calculated and measured conventionally according to the mentioned CIE publication 15.2 (1986) and the ASTM standard: E 308-90. The term dominant wavelength includes the actually measured wavelength and, if applicable, its calculated complement. Excitation purity (Pe or% purity) is conventionally measured according to CIE publication 15.2 (1986) and ASTM standard: E 308-90.

After reading the above description, many other features, modifications and improvements will be obvious to a specialist. Such features, modifications and improvements are therefore considered part of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the following claims.