Glass–ceramics: A Potential Material for Energy Storage and Photonic Applications

Glass–ceramics are a class of materials with immense potential for many applications. Glass–ceramics, synthesized with appropriate composition and crystallized using a suitable heat-treatment protocol can have many important properties such as their optical, mechanical, thermal, chemical, and dielectric behavior tailored to particular values. The last decade has witnessed a global demand for improved of energy efficiency and the requirement to develop new green energy sources. Also, new, low-cost materials are needed: (i) that can better exploit light by performing existing photonic functions more efficiently and (ii) to create new devices. Glass–ceramics by virtue of their unique combination of properties can fill the need for energy storage and photonic applications. Starting with a short introduction to this class of materials, the chapter summarizes the state-of-the-art and the prospects for progress for dielectric, energy storage, and photonic applications of some recently developed novel glass–ceramics.