Silver doping of glasses

Silicate glasses containing silver in both ionic and aggregate forms have been used since decades for application in several fields, e.g., optical waveguides, sensoristics, electrochemistry, optoelectronics, photonic materials, and more recently for sensitizing effects. The doping of selected regions of glass systems has been faced following a variety of techniques, among which the ion-exchange has played a major role, as witnessed by the continuing publication of new results and novel refinements of the preparation procedures. In this work, a short overview is presented on the application and preparation aspects of silver glass doping, with particular emphasis given to the ion-exchange technique. Basic and experimental questions still open in the understanding of both silver-doped glasses formation and properties are finally addressed.