Effect of Y2O3 on crystallization and mechanical properties of sodium aluminum silicate glass containing ZrO2

In this paper, high transmittance glass-ceramics containing Zirconium Yttrium Oxide (Zr0.82Y0.18O1.91) nanocrystals were successfully prepared by melt cooling and crystallization heat-treatment method. The effects of Y2O3 concentration on the structure, crystallization performance, transmittance, and indentation fracture toughness of Na2O-Al2O3-B2O3-SiO2-ZrO2 glass and glass-ceramics were explored. The addition of Y2O3 improved the Vickers hardness (4.81 GPa to 5.25 GPa) and indentation fracture toughness (0.78 MPam1/2 to 0.95 MPam1/2) of the glasses. Y2O3 successfully facilitated the precipitation of the non-alkaline crystalline phase Zr0.82Y0.18O1.91 at low heat-treatment temperatures. The precipitation of Zr0.82Y0.18O1.91 nanocrystals improves the Vickers hardness (5.17 GPa to 5.56 GPa) and indentation fracture toughness (0.90 MPam1/2 to 1.01 MPam1/2) in glass-ceramics, while concurrently preserving a high level of visible light transmittance (∼90%). This demonstrates its potential applications in the field of protective covers for electronic displays.