Raman spectroscopic study of irregular network in the process of glass conversion to CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 glass-ceramics

Abstract The effect of nucleating agent on the amorphous phase results in the change of structure and properties of glass-ceramics. Raman spectroscopic is introduced in the progress of transformation from glass to glass-ceramics with different doping Cr2O3 (with 0wt%, 0.2wt%, 0.4wt%, and 0.6wt%). The polymerization degree of the glass-network decreases with adding of nucleating agent, or heating treatment of nucleating. The total percentage of content Q2 (the glass-network with n bridged oxygens, n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4) and Q4 is decreased by 19.55% and depolymerizes into Q1 and Q3 with the occurrence of the glass-network being damaged, which promotes the occurrence of phase separation at high temperature. Raman mapping displays that the surface or shape wall of solid phase particles for heterogeneous nucleating, and Si-O bonds in amorphous structure will transform into a crystalline structure skeleton. The Raman spectroscopy and Raman mapping have important applications in understanding structural transformation from amorphous to crystal.