Effect of TiO2 on crystallization and mechanical properties of MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 glasses containing P2O5

MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 glass-ceramics have been widely used in military, industrial, and construction applications. The nucleating agent is one of the most important factors in the production of glass-ceramics as it can control the crystallization temperature or the grain size. In this study, we investigated the effect of replacing P2O5 with different amounts of TiO2 on the crystallization, structure, and mechanical properties of an MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 system. The crystallization and microstructure were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The me-chanical properties were investigated by measuring the Vickers hardness, Young's modulus, and fracture toughness. The results showed that adding TiO2 favored the precipitation of fine grains and significantly increased the Vickers hardness, Young's modulus, and fracture toughness of the glasses. Introducing an appro-priate amount of TiO2 can make a glass structure more compact, promote crystallization, and improve the mechanical properties of MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 glass-ceramics.