Laboratory Quartz Glass & Quartz Labware

Six properties make laboratory quartz glass the right choice where borosilicate fails — in heat, in acids, and in trace-level work.

High-Temperature Stability

Fused silica keeps its shape in extreme heat — furnaces, flame processing and plasma systems. It serves continuously to about 1200°C, far beyond borosilicate.

Thermal Shock Resistance

Near-zero expansion lets quartz handle fast temperature changes without cracking. A hot crucible can go straight onto a cool bench.

Chemical Resistance

Fused silica resists strong mineral acids and aggressive media, even hot. It keeps process chemistry clean during digestion and reflux.

Ultra-High Purity

Low trace contamination gives a very low boron and alkali blank. This is essential for ICP-MS, ICP-OES and other ultra-trace analysis.

Broad Optical Transparency

Quartz transmits from UV to near-infrared. This suits photochemistry, UV reactions and optical monitoring through the vessel wall.

Long Service Life

With proper handling, quartz resists devitrification and keeps surface quality through long high-temperature cycling.

FGQuartz makes the full range of quartz labware for high-temperature processing, trace-level analysis and photochemical research. Standard items ship from stock; custom vessels are made to drawing from the same facility. For selection and care guidance, see our laboratory quartz guide.

The fused silica crucible is the core high-temperature vessel — used for ashing, calcination and flux fusion at temperatures that destroy ordinary glassware. FGQuartz crucibles are CNC-turned and hand-finished for uniform walls and a flat base. Low-form and tall-form, lipped or plain rim, with optional lids.

Low / tall form · Lipped or plain · With or without lid

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The ICP quartz torch is the heart of ICP-OES and ICP-MS instruments, carrying the argon plasma above 6000 K. FGQuartz makes triple-tube torch assemblies and individual torch tubes that survive the extreme thermal gradient, compatible with major instrument platforms. Mini and demountable designs available.

ICP-OES / ICP-MS · OEM-compatible · Mini & demountable

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The quartz reaction tube is the workhorse of high-temperature gas-phase chemistry, materials synthesis and analytical combustion. FGQuartz makes open- and closed-end tubes, with or without ground joints or flanged ends, in narrow-bore, wide-bore and U-tube geometries — all clear fused silica for visual observation.

Open / closed end · Flanged · CVD & combustion

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Combustion boats hold solid samples in the hot zone of tube furnaces for elemental and CHNS analysis without warping or contaminating the gas stream. Evaporation dishes concentrate solutions and digests on hot plates with a very low boron and alkali blank — ideal for ultra-trace work.

Combustion boats · Evaporation dishes · Watch glasses

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Quartz beakers, Erlenmeyer and round-bottom flasks serve where borosilicate is inadequate — high temperatures, UV photochemistry or ultra-low trace metal backgrounds. FGQuartz also makes distillation heads, condensers and sub-boiling stills for producing ultra-pure HNO₃, HCl and HF reagents.

Beakers / flasks · UV photochemistry · Sub-boiling stills

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Many labs need vessels no catalogue lists — photoreactors with specific UV geometry, jacketed digestion vessels, high-pressure tubes or gas-sampling cells. FGQuartz makes these by CNC machining, flame welding and precision grinding. Send DXF, STEP or IGES files, or a sketch. Single-piece prototypes welcome.

Photoreactors · Gas cells · DXF / STEP / IGES · Single-piece OK

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Different lab disciplines rely on quartz for different reasons. Here is the role it plays in each, and what FGQuartz supplies.

Trace analysis at ppb–ppt levels is dominated by contamination control, and the vessel material is often the deciding variable. Borosilicate is unusable for boron and leaches sodium, potassium, calcium and aluminium. Fused silica leaches only silicon, giving a far lower blank for every other element — enabling detection limits an order of magnitude lower. FGQuartz supplies crucibles, evaporation dishes, acid beakers, ICP torches and storage vessels, pre-cleaned in dilute HNO₃ before shipment.

Ashing, fusion, calcination and sintering all need vessels that survive temperatures ordinary glass cannot reach. Quartz crucibles are standard for ashing up to about 1100°C and, unlike platinum, are affordable enough to dedicate to a sample matrix to avoid cross-contamination. Thermal shock resistance matters in fusion workflows, where a crucible moves from a hot muffle furnace to a cool bench — fused silica absorbs the gradient without cracking.

Photochemical reactions need vessels that transmit the driving wavelength. Borosilicate is opaque below about 300 nm, ruling it out for most photocatalysis and UV work. Quartz transmits from 150 nm through the visible, so the full output of UV, mercury, xenon and laser sources reaches the mixture. FGQuartz makes photoreactor vessels with defined illuminated volume, integrated ports and cooling-jacket connections, plus UV round-bottom flasks and immersion wells.

Wet acid digestion dissolves solid samples for elemental analysis. Quartz beakers and flasks handle hot aqua regia, HNO₃/HClO₄ and HNO₃/HF without leaching boron or alkali metals into the digest. Sub-boiling quartz stills purify commercial acids to ultra-trace quality by evaporating below the boiling point and condensing in a quartz cold finger — giving a reagent blank far lower than commercial ultra-pure acids.

Materials synthesis pushes labware to its limits — high heat, reactive gases and processes repeated across hundreds of runs. Quartz ampoules sealed under vacuum or inert gas are standard for chalcogenide and halide crystal growth. For CVD research, a horizontal quartz tube furnace keeps the whole gas path inert, so film chemistry is not contaminated by the vessel. FGQuartz supplies ampoules, reaction tubes, substrate boats, gas baffles and end-cap assemblies.

Regulated testing labs must meet method detection limits and blank criteria for trace metals in water, soil and food. Quartz digestion vessels give blanks below detection limits across regulated elements (Pb, Cd, As, Cr, Ni, Zn, Cu, Hg). In pharma, quartz survives autoclave sterilisation without leaching and supports UV-Vis dissolution testing where borosilicate absorption would cut sensitivity. FGQuartz supplies digestion vessels, impingers, ICP torches, dissolution cells and sterilisable vessels.

Knowing the capabilities and limits of quartz labware helps labs buy the right item and keep it performing over its full service life. For the full treatment, read our laboratory quartz guide.

The defining property is near-zero thermal expansion. When a material expands unevenly across its cross-section, differential strain creates internal stress; if that stress exceeds the tensile strength, it cracks. Because fused silica barely changes size with temperature, the stress from rapid heating or cooling stays negligible. That is why a hot quartz crucible can sit directly on a cool bench, and why quartz tubes can be cooled quickly under flowing gas without failing.

Devitrification is the change of amorphous fused silica into crystalline cristobalite, occurring when quartz is held around 1050–1200°C for long periods — made worse by alkali contamination, which nucleates crystallisation. Affected surfaces look milky and become weaker, generating particles. Prevent it by keeping alkali and alkaline-earth contamination off the surface (clean gloves, avoid sodium carbonate and calcium-rich samples) and avoiding prolonged operation at the upper temperature limit. Replace milky items before failure.

Fused silica resists nearly all lab reagents — HCl, HNO₃, H₂SO₄, H₃PO₄, HClO₄, aqua regia and H₂O₂ — at or near boiling. The key exceptions: hydrofluoric acid (HF) attacks and dissolves quartz, so it must never be used in quartz; concentrated hot alkali (NaOH, KOH) dissolves the SiO₂ network above about 200°C, so alkaline fusions belong in platinum or PTFE; and very hot concentrated phosphoric acid above ~300°C can slowly attack the surface. For all other common chemistry, quartz is the most resistant glass available.

For routine cleaning, soak in hot dilute nitric acid (10–20% HNO₃) then rinse thoroughly with high-purity DI water — the standard protocol for trace labs. For stubborn carbon from ashing, briefly heat the empty crucible to 900–1000°C to oxidise residue. Avoid mechanical abrasion, which creates stress points that weaken the vessel. Never clean with HF or strong alkaline etching solutions. Ultrasonic cleaning in dilute acid is safe and effective for internal tube surfaces.

Tell us your application, vessel type, dimensions and quantities. The FGQuartz team will review your requirements and respond with a detailed quotation within 24 hours. Explore related optical quartz glass or the full application library.