Nucleation and growth of a lithium aluminium silicate glass studied by differential thermal analysis

The crystallization mechanism and the nucleation rate of a LAS matrix (Li0.6Al0.1Si0.6O1.65) were studied by differential thermal analysis (DTA). The plot of the DTA peak height vs. the glass particle size shows a strong surface dependence for crystallization. The comparison of the DTA peak height and the inverse of maximum temperature of the crystallization peak, as functions of the nucleation temperature, do not indicate any overlap of the crystal growth rate and the nucleation rate. These two curves yield the same maximum of the nucleation rate (610°C) and temperature range size (70°C), for which nucleation is significant. Furthermore, the dimensionality of the crystal growth of bulk samples is not influenced by a nucleation treatment and confirms the tendency of this glass for surface crystallization.