The influence of additives of metal compounds (ZrB2, MoS2 and nickel to the abrasive masses based on devitrified glasses of ZnO-PbO-B2O3-SiO2 system was studied by investigating both the wettability of submicrocrystalline sintered corundum, and the size, structure and chemistry of the interfaces. XRD analysis, scanning electron microscopy with X-ray microanalysis, wettability tests and microhardness measurements were performed. The experimental results were compared with the probability of reaction between the abrasive grain (cBN, submicrocrystalline sintered corundum) and: (1) the additives of metal compounds, (2) devitrified glass binders identified by using a VCS algorithm designed for thermodynamic calculations. It was confirmed that 18-20 compounds (6-9 in condensed phase) out of 230 exhibited chemical stability. (C) 2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.