Quartz

Quartz (CAS 14808-60-7), also sold as Silicon Dioxide or E551 in food-contact and industrial contexts, is a naturally occurring crystalline mineral processed for use across construction and electronics. It functions primarily as a functional filler, abrasive, and rheology modifier in solid and composite systems. In building and construction, it is compounded into mortars, grouts, and engineered stone slabs.

These applications help to control hardness, dimensional stability, and surface texture. Electronics manufacturers rely on high-purity quartz as a raw material for silicon wafer production and as a filler. It is frequently used in epoxy encapsulants for semiconductor packaging. Foundry and refractory applications use quartz sand as a mold medium and heat-resistant aggregate in furnace linings.

In plastics and polymer compounding, milled quartz improves scratch resistance and reduces shrinkage in thermoset and thermoplastic systems. It is supplied as mined sand, crushed stone, and milled powder. The material is available across a broad particle size range, from coarse aggregates to sub-micron grades. Standard commercial grades include technical, foundry, and high-purity electronic grades.

Purity levels are typically specified by SiO2 content. Surface-treated variants are available for polymer compounding applications where improved matrix adhesion is required for the final product.