Crystallization kinetics, stability and glass forming ability of iron phosphate and cesium loaded iron phosphate glasses

The activation energy of crystallization of iron phosphate glass (IPG) as a function of the fraction of crystallization was evaluated by Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose isoconversional method utilizing crystallization curves obtained from differential thermal analysis (DTA). The crystallization products were identified by using X-ray diffraction technique. Similar crystallization kinetic studies were carried out on IPG loaded with 5.5 mol% Cs2O. The glass stability and glass forming ability of IPG and various cesium loaded IPG were also estimated in terms of the characteristic temperatures obtained from DTA. The characteristic temperatures include glass transition, crystallization and liquidus temperature. The glass forming ability is correlated with the evaluated critical cooling rate of the glasses. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.