Structural, thermal, and mechanical characteristics of yttrium lithium borate glasses and glass-ceramics

In this article, author investigate the mechanical characteristics of examined glasses and glass-ceramics by replacing Li2O for Y2O3. X-ray diffraction revealed the glasses' amorphous nature. FT-IR analysis revealed that as replacing Li2O for Y2O3, increase in bridging oxygens (BOs), whereas non-bridging oxygens are declining. By increasing the Y2O3 content, the mechanical characteristics of the investigated glasses can be improved. This improvement is correlated with enhanced rigidity of the glass matrix, which is accountable for the increment in both packing density and Y-O bond strength. The author discovered that when Li2O is substituted for Y2O3, the thermal variables, hardness, and elastic moduli of glasses and glass-ceramics increment. XRD analysis of crystalline phase of studied glasses demonstrates all the predicted phases. In this article, Y2O3 is described as a strong nucleating agent capable of causing crystallization and supporting in the establishment of glass-ceramic phases.