Crystallization characteristics and physico-chemical properties of glass–ceramics based on Li 2 O–ZnO–SiO 2 system

Glass materials based on lithium zinc silicate system of the composition 24Li2O–20ZnO–56SiO2 LZS (mol%) were prepared and converted to glass–ceramics using controlled heat-treatment schedules. The LZS base glass system was modified by addition of Al2O3 and MO/ZnO replacements where MO = CaO, CdO and SrO oxides. Several crystalline phases were developed, including lithium zinc orthosilicate, α-quartz, β-spodumene solid solution, lithium meta and disilicate, Ca-wollastonite, Cd or Sr metasilicate, and Sr-zinc silicate of hardystonite type. The effects of crystallization process on some properties, like thermal expansion coefficient (TEC), chemical stability, and density of glass–ceramics were evaluated. The TEC of crystalline samples varied from 72 × 10−7 to 149 × 10−7 K−1, 25–600 and density values in the range, 2.67–3.29 g/cm3. The addition of Al2O3 and MO/ZnO replacements in the base glass led to improve the chemical durability of the glass–ceramics samples. As a result of the thermal and physico-chemical properties of the studied glass–ceramic, the materials acquire excellent properties and can be used to seal a variety of different metals and alloys