Nanoparticles embedded into glass matrices: glass nanocomposites

Research on glass nanocomposites (GNCs) has been very active in the past decades. GNCs have attracted — and still do — great interest in the fields of optoelectronics, photonics, sensing, electrochemistry, catalysis, biomedicine, and art. In this review, the potential applications of GNCs in these fields are briefly described to show the reader the possibilities of these materials. The most important synthesis methods of GNCs (melt-quenching, sol-gel, ion implantation, ion-exchange, staining process, spark plasma sintering, radio frequency sputtering, spray pyrolysis, and chemical vapor deposition techniques) are extensively explained. The major aim of this review is to systematize our knowledge about the synthesis of GNCs and to explore the mechanisms of formation and growth of NPs within glass matrices. The size-controlled preparation of NPs within glass matrices, which remains a challenge, is essential for advanced applications. Therefore, a thorough understanding of GNC synthesis techniques is expected to facilitate the preparation of innovative GNCs.