Metal coated brittle containers, conduits and other objects for laboratory and industry

In an armored brittle-ware article selected from the group consisting of laboratory and industrial brittle-ware coated externally with a layer of metal, the improvement which comprises an anti-bonding layer between the natural surface of said brittle-ware and said layer of metal;

• said anti-bonding layer being selected from the group consisting of thermally stable finely divided particles and thermally stable polymers, and said layer of metal being plated by chemical vapor deposition at an elevated temperature of at least about 150.degree. F over substantially the entire outer surface of said article;
• the brittle material of said article being under a compressive force at room temperature over the entire inert brittle-ware article, caused by the greater shrinkage of said metal layer than said brittle material when the temperature of said article is lowered from an elevated temperature at which said metal layer was applied to said brittle-ware to room temperature;
• said coated brittle-ware having shock resistance, substantially increased pressure tolerance and an impact strength of at least about 5 times greater than that of similar uncoated brittle-ware.