Table V. Chemical properties of transmissive optical materials

Material	Symbol		Solubility  in H2O satdwt.%	Incompatibilities	Comments
Sodium chloride	NaCl		26.5	Water, glycols, high humidity	inexpensive
Potassium chloride	KCl		25.8	Water, alcohols, ether, wet solvents	inexpensive
Potassium bromide	KBr		39.5	Water, alcohols, ether, humidity
Cesium bromide	CsBr		55.4	Water, alcohols, humidity
Cesium iodide	CsI		61.5	Water, alcohols, any humidity
Lithium fluoride	LiF		0.27	Water, HF
Magnesium fluoride	MgF2		0.0076	Concd acids	rugged
Calcium fluoride	CaF2		0.0015	Ammonium ion, some concd acids	fairly tough
Strontium fluoride	SrF2		0.012	Ammonium ion, hot HCl
Barium fluoride	BaF2		0.16	Ammonium ion, acids
Silver chloride	AgCl		0.00014	Oxidizers, chelators, concd chloride	attacks base metals, UV darkens
Silver bromide	AgBr		0.00001	Oxidizers, chelators, concd chloride	attacks base metals, UV darkens
Thallium bromochloride	KRS-6		0.3	Methanol, chelators, strong bases	dust very toxic
Thallium bromoiodide	KRS-5		0.05	Methanol, chelators, strong bases	dust very toxic
Magnesium oxide	MgO		0.00062	Concd acids, ammonium ion
Sapphire	a Al2O3		i	Concd acids & bases	inert
Crystal quartz	a SiO2		i	HF, some hot concd bases	inert
Zirconia	ZrO2		i	HF, H2SO4	fairly inert
Zinc sulfide	ZnS		0.00069	Strong oxidizers, some acids	dust allergenic
Zinc selenide	ZnSe		<0.001	Acids, strong concd bases	dust allergenic
Cadmium sulfide	CdS		0.00013	Acids	dust toxic
Cadmium selenide	CdSe		i	Acids	dust toxic
Cadmium telluride	CdTe		i	Oxidizers, some acids	dust toxic
Diamond	C		i	K2Cr2O7 + concd H2SO4	expensive, very inert
Silicon	Si		i	HF + HNO3	inexpensive, very inert
Germanium	Ge		i	Hot H2SO4, aq. reg.	some interaction with redox agents
Gallium arsenide	GaAs		i	Acids, strong oxidizers	dust toxic
Silica glasses	vSiO2		i	HF, strong bases	inert
Borosilicate glasses	BSCG		i	HF, strong bases	inert
Fluorozirconate glass	HMFG		>1.	Water, high humidity
Arsenic trisulfide glass	As2S3		0.00005	Alcohols, bases	dust toxic
AMTIR-1 glass	AMTIR		i	Bases	dust toxic
GASIR1 glass	GASIR1		i	Bases	dust toxic
GASIR2 glass	GASIR2		i	Bases	dust toxic
Poly-ethylene	HDPE		i	Hot organics, oxidizing acids	inexpensive
Poly-methylpentene	TPX		i	Chlorinated aromatics	inexpensive
Polyester	PET		i	Halohydrocarbons	inexpensive
Poly-tetrafluoroethylene	PTFE		i	None	toxic fumes at high temperatures
Fluorinated EPC	FEPC		i	None	toxic fumes at high temperatures

Materials containing poisonous elements (e.g., Tl, As, Cd, Se) can be handled safely, but dust from grinding or polishing is very hazardous.Chemical incompatibilities often become worse at elevated temperatures; the noted incompatibilities represent interactions at modest temperatures
These data were collected from a variety of sources, so this table probably contains errors. Use cautiously, and empirically verify critical values.
©2002 by D.W.Vidrine  « Author will not accept responsibility for any harm resulting from the use of this data! »
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