Thermal expansion behavior and microstructure in bulk nanocrystalline selenium by thermomechanical analysis

Thermal expansion behavior of bulk nanocrystalline (NC) Se samples with a grain size range of 16–46 nm was studied by thermomechanical analysis (TMA) in the temperature range 290–373 K. Bulk NC Se samples were prepared by isothermally crystallizing the as-quenched bulk amorphous solid at 373–478 K. The glass transition and crystallization of the remaining amorphous Se in the partially crystallized samples were studied by TMA, and compared with the results of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The glass transition temperature, as determined from the thermal expansion behavior, was 308 K, 11 K lower than the value by DSC analysis. A structural densification phenomenon was observed in a grain growth process of an as-crystallized NC Se sample by TMA. It was found that the linear thermal expansion coefficient of the bulk NC Se sample increased with a reduction of grain size, from which the deduced thermal expansion coefficient of the interface decreased with the refinement of the grain size.