Formation kinetics of Sr0.25Ba0.75Nb2O6 and Li2B4O7 crystals from 0.25SrO–0.75BaO–Nb2O5–Li2O–2B2O3 glass

We have investigated the transition kinetics of Sr_0.25Ba_0.75Nb₂O₆ (SBN) and Li₂B₄O₇ (LBO) crystals from 0.25SrO-0.75BaO-Nb₂O₅-Li₂O-2B₂O₃ (SBNLBO) glass under isothermal and non-isothermal processes. With increasing temperature, there are two consecutive steps of crystallization of SBN and LBO from the glass. The Johnson-Mehl-Avrami function indicates that the crystallization mechanism of SBN belongs to an increasing nucleation rate with diffusion-controlled growth. The crystallite size of SBN ranges from 40 to 140 nm but it is confined to within 30-45 nm for LBO during the whole crystallization process. The relationship between the nano size and strain of SBN based on the Williamson-Hall method, and the change of activation energies of SBN and LBO crystallization analyzed by using the isoconversional model are discussed. A comparison of phonon modes between as-quenched glass and fully transformed crystals clearly shows that the low dimensional vibration modes in the structurally disordered glass change to highly dimensional network units with the formation of crystals.