Thermochimica Acta, Vol.555, 57-63, 2013
Crystallization kinetics of two overlapped phases in As40Te50In10 glass
Bulk As40Te50In10 glass was prepared using the melt-quench technique. Differential thermal analyses (DTA) of the quenched glass at different heating rates (5 <=alpha <= 30 degrees C/min) have shown two overlapped crystalline phases. The overlapped crystalline phases are separated successfully using Gaussian fit method. The average values of the activation energy for crystallization (E-C) for the first and second crystallization peak equal 128.4 +/- 0.8 and 171.8 +/- 0.7 kJ/mole, respectively. The reaction order calculated for both crystalline phases has the same value (n = 1.42 +/- 0.2) which indicates that their crystallization mechanisms are similar. As a result of thermal annealing at temperature close to the on-set temperature of the second peak, amorphous-crystalline transformations have been occurred inside the studied glass. The induced crystalline phases are identified from comparing X-ray peaks with PDF data as AsTe and As2Te3 phases. The electron microscope micrographs of the as-prepared and annealed specimens confirm the X-ray diffractograms and the results obtained from DSC measurements. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords:Chalcogenide glasses;Crystallization kinetics;X-ray diffractometry;Scanning electron microscope