A rare element of the earth is Cerium and its oxide is Cerium oxide. The commercial level of this compound is extensively used in most industries for polishing or cleaning the glass. Top categorised cerium is beneficial for polishing the glass after it is on the level. This is the polishing powder which is obtainable from the market.

One of the most important ingredients present in the glass polishing powder is primarily cerium dioxide (CeO2), which is followed by praseodymium oxide or Pr2O3, lanthanum oxide or La2O3, and it also contains a very minute amounts of aluminium oxide, silicon oxide, and calcium oxide. Cerium-oxide-powder or glass polishing powder is extensively used for glass polishing, because of its properties such as high precision polishing as well as strong cutting property, along with short polishing time and long life advantages. As per the composition of cerium oxide, glass polishing powder must be distributed into low, medium and high glass polishing powder. Their strong cutting forces as well as their service life are also categorised as low, medium and high.

Glass polishing powder effects used in the glass polishing process

The working of Cerium oxide is that of mechanical-chemical process. Glass polishing powder has majorly two effects in process of glass polishing, namely the mechanical action, along with colloid chemistry. Both these effects will occur simultaneously. In the preliminary stage of polishing process, CeO2 will remove the surface irregularities from the layer, thereby displaying a fresh polished surface, hence the mechanical action occurs during the time. Meanwhile, due to the presence of water in polishing mixture, H3O+ ions will be obtained as a result of the polishing process.

Hydrolysis compound will be formed with the glass due to the mutual exchange of H30 ion and that of Na ion. Furthermore, due to the polyvalent nature of the CeO2 as a polishing agent, the redox reaction of Ce (3) or Ce (5) will terminate the silicate form of the crystal lattice, and oxidize the material of contact of the glass surface in the polishing agent, thereby forming a complex which is to be eliminated by the process of chemical adsorption.

The interpretations of the cerium-oxide polishing mechanism are as follows

1. According to the Chemical theory, the glass polishing process occurs as the result of chemical collaboration among polish mold material, water, glass and polishing agent.

2. In the mechanical action principle, polishing is a result of the continuation of the grinding process.

3. In the Rheology doctrine, i.e. the concept of Friction, the heat will make the glass surface produce the deformation in plastic and flow, melting flow as a result of heat softening, and the glass polishing is therefore the process in which the molecules of the glass surface are re-distributed and they result in the formation of a flat surface;

It is believed by many Experts that glass polishing is a course of mechanical, physical and chemical synthesis, where the mechanical action has been considered basic, and the chemical action is considered important, with the presence of the rheology phenomenon. The main reason behind the cerium oxide as a tremendously effective glass polishing powder is because of its ability to instantaneously polish glass with chemical decomposition as well as mechanical friction. In the process of glass polishing, cerium oxide has primarily two effects, which are the mechanical action along with colloid chemistry actions, which occur simultaneously.