Kinetics of glass transition and thermal stability of Ge30-xSe70Snx (8≤x≤20) glasses.

Ge_30-xSe₇₀Sn_x (8≤x≤20) glasses have been prepared using conventional melt quenching. The kinetics of the glass transition have been studied in terms of the variation of glass transition temperature with composition and heating rate. In addition the activation energy of the glass transition (E_t) and its compositional dependence have been investigated using the Kissinger approach. The thermal stability of these glasses has been investigated using different stability parameters such as the kinetic resistance ΔT (T_c-T_g), the weighted thermal stability parameter H' ((T_c-T_g)/T_g) and S ((T_c-T_g) (T_p-T_c)/T_g) in terms of glass transition temperature (T_g), crystallization onset temperature (T_c) and peak crystallization temperature (T_p). It has been found that the thermal stability decreases with the increasing Sn content in the glassy alloys. A glassy sample is more stable if it has a higher kinetic resistance to crystallization. Accordingly, it has been observed that Ge₂₂Se₇₀Sn₈ glassy sample is more thermally stable compared to the other members of the series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]