Abstract
Mechanisms of triboluminescence of silica glass are discussed from a theoretical viewpoint on the basis of several experimental reports on triboluminescent spectra of a variety of silica glasses. Until now, two different mechanisms have been proposed for triboluminescence of silica glass. Triboluminescent spectra with a single peak were regarded as the emission from a black-body radiator, but spectra with two peaks were interpreted as the emission from defect centers. We here propose a model for explaining the two types of triboluminescent spectra reported in silica glass. In our model, triboluminescence of silica glass is due to the emission from defect centers near fracture surfaces. Radiative relaxation of electronic states on these defects would explain the two types of triboluminescent spectra reported in silica glass. Triboluminescent spectra of silica glass depend on fracture methods which influence disorder in atomic configuration near fracture surfaces. [DOI: 10.1380/ejssnt.2015.159]