Optical and Mechanical Properties of Lithium Aluminosilicate Glass-ceramics

Lithium aluminosilicate glass-ceramics has many uses in high-tech applications. Beta quartz or spodumene solid solution phase in the Li2O-Al2O3-SiO2-P2O5 glass system has been precipitated by controlled heat-treatment of the parent glass. These glasses prepared by melt-quench technique. High transparency (>80%) in the visible wavelength range has been observed in the material by UV-VIS-NIR spectrometry. FTIR spectra indicated the presence of Si-O as well as Al-O bonds in the glass-ceramics. The LAS glass ceramics showed moderate flexural strength (~80 MPa) and young’s modulus (~50 GPa). Microstructural characterization of the heat-treated glass ceramics by FESEM and TEM showed nano-crystalline spherical particles of 30-40 nm, which provided a rationale for its high transparency and good mechanical properties that may open up possibilities for newer applications.