Li Minghan, Pan Yan, Wei Shuguang, Ma Yanping, Dong Chuang, Hao Hongxun, Jiang Hong
State Key Laboratory of Tropic Ocean Engineering Materials and Materials Evaluation & Special Glass Key Laboratory of Hainan Province, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China.
School of Ecology, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2025 Sep 20;15(18):1449. doi: 10.3390/nano15181449.
In this study, we investigate the phase transition process during high-alumina, low-lithium glass-ceramics (ZnO-MgO-LiO-SiO-AlO) crystallization. The differential scanning calorimetry and high-temperature X-ray diffraction results show that approximately 10 wt.% of (Zn, Mg)AlO crystals precipitated when the heat treatment temperature reached 850 °C, indicating that a large number of nuclei had already formed during the earlier stages of heat treatment. Field emission transmission electron microscopy used to observe the microstructure of glass-ceramics after staged heat treatment revealed that cation migration occurred during the nucleation process. Zn and Mg aggregated around Al to form (Zn, Mg)AlO nuclei, which provided sites for crystal growth. Moreover, high-valence Zr aggregated outside the glass network, leading to the formation of nanocrystals. Raman spectroscopy analysis of samples at different stages of crystallization revealed that during spinel precipitation, the Q and Q structural units in the glass network increased significantly, along with an increase in the number of bridging oxygens. Highly coordinated Al originally present in the network mainly participated in spinel nucleation, effectively suppressing the subsequent formation of LiAlSiO, which eventually resulted in the successful preparation of glass-ceramics with (Zn, Mg)AlO and ZrO as the main crystalline phases. The grains in this glass-ceramic are all nanocrystals. Its Vickers hardness and flexural strength can reach up to 875 Hv and 350 MPa, respectively, while the visible light transmittance of the glass-ceramic reaches 81.5%. This material shows potential for applications in touchscreen protection, aircraft and high-speed train windshields, and related fields.
在本研究中，我们研究了高铝低锂微晶玻璃（ZnO-MgO-LiO-SiO-AlO）结晶过程中的相变过程。差示扫描量热法和高温X射线衍射结果表明，当热处理温度达到850℃时，约10 wt.%的(Zn,Mg)AlO晶体析出，这表明在热处理的早期阶段已经形成了大量晶核。通过场发射透射电子显微镜观察分段热处理后微晶玻璃的微观结构，发现成核过程中发生了阳离子迁移。Zn和Mg在Al周围聚集形成(Zn,Mg)AlO晶核，为晶体生长提供了位点。此外，高价Zr在玻璃网络外聚集，导致纳米晶体的形成。对不同结晶阶段样品的拉曼光谱分析表明，在尖晶石析出过程中，玻璃网络中的Q和Q结构单元显著增加，桥氧数量也随之增加。网络中原本存在的高配位Al主要参与尖晶石成核，有效抑制了后续LiAlSiO的形成，最终成功制备了以(Zn,Mg)AlO和ZrO为主要晶相的微晶玻璃。这种微晶玻璃中的晶粒均为纳米晶体。其维氏硬度和抗弯强度分别可达875 Hv和350 MPa，而微晶玻璃的可见光透过率达到81.5%。这种材料在触摸屏保护、飞机和高速列车挡风玻璃及相关领域具有应用潜力。
