Corning manufactures the amorphous silicon dioxide (ASD) as a coating for their fiber. We discussed producing more of the material if we could identify commercial applications. Our focus at that time was on thermoplastics. Since then, we have confirmed the scientific principles that underlie the contributions made by the ASD and think that many of these principles should apply to coatings.
Essentially, at low loading in thermoplastics, the ASD acts as a nucleating agent. Nucleating agents increase the temperature at which polypropylene (for example) begins to crystallize. This decrease in the cooling time required for part solidification improves the "cycle time" of a molding or extrusion and increases productivity.