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 (Zr 0.82 Y 0.18 O 1.91) nanocrystals were successfully prepared by melt cooling and crystallization heat-treatment method. The effects of Y 2 O 3 concentration on the structure, crystallization performance, transmittance, and indentation fracture toughness of Na 2 O–Al 2 O 3 –B 2 O 3 –SiO 2 –ZrO 2 glass and glass-ceramics were explored. The addition of Y 2 O 3 improved the Vickers hardness (4.81 GPa–5.25 GPa) and indentation fracture toughness (0.78 MPam1/2 to 0.95 MPam1/2) of the glasses. Y 2 O 3 successfully facilitated the precipitation of the non-alkaline crystalline phase Zr 0.82 Y 0.18 O 1.91 at low heat-treatment temperatures. The precipitation of Zr 0.82 Y 0.18 O 1.91 nanocrystals improves the Vickers hardness (5.17 GPa–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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]