Crystallization Studies of Lithium Borosilicate Glasses

Abstract

. Lithium borosilicate ternary system is analogous to the most commercially exploited Na O-B O -SiO sys-

2          2    3          2

tem. The tendency towards liquid-liquid immiscibility is enhanced when sodium is replaced by lithium, which facili-

tates the crystallization process. In the present work, three compositions of lithium borosilicate glasses were  formu-

2

 

2

 

lated and melted by varying the mol percent ratio of SiO  and Li O. The glasses were subsequently subjected to

crystallization by isothermal heat-treatments at identical temperatures for various specific time durations. The crystal growth was found to be linear and the rate of crystallization was dependent on SiO /Li O ratio. The phases that

2       2

developed during heat-treatments were identified using XRD