Time-dependent nucleation rate measurements in BaO.2SiO2 and 5BaO.8SiO2 glasses

TL;DR

This study measures how the rate of crystal formation varies with temperature in specific glasses, using a new method to analyze the data and revealing deviations from classical nucleation theory at certain temperatures.

Contribution

Introduces a new iterative analysis method for nucleation data, providing detailed temperature-dependent interfacial free energy and critical work of cluster formation in glasses.

Findings

Maximum nucleation rate temperature aligns with previous thermal analysis.

Critical work of cluster formation deviates from classical theory below maximum nucleation temperature.

Data supports the use of a new iterative method for nucleation analysis.

Abstract

The two-step heat treatment method is used to measure the steady state crystal nucleation rate and induction time as a function of temperature in BaO.2SiO2 and 5BaO.8SiO2 glasses. For both glasses, the temperature for maximum nucleation rate and the temperature range for significant nucleation agree well with previous estimates from differential thermal analysis studies. The data are analyzed with a new iterative method to obtain the interfacial free energy and critical work of cluster formation as a function of temperature. For temperatures below the temperature at which steady-state nucleation rate is a maximum, the critical work of cluster formation is shown to strongly deviate from expectations of the classical theory of nucleation.