Effect of boron oxide on the structure and properties of Li2O‐Al2O3‐SiO2 transparent glass‐ceramics

Transparent lithium aluminum silicon glass‐ceramics are prepared via heat treatment and the effect of boron oxide (B2O3) content on the structure and properties of Li2O‐Al2O3‐SiO2 glass‐ceramics is investigated. The X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy results reveal that the parent glass containing B2O3 exhibits a higher concentration of bridging oxygen (BO). With an increase in B2O3 content, the relative amount of BO changes from 76.64% to 79.86% and then to 79.52%. Simultaneously, the second crystallization peak temperature TP2 of the samples increases from 715°C to 720°C and then to 724°C by differential scanning calorimeter analysis. The X‐ray diffractometer and scanning electron microscope results indicate that the addition of B2O3 facilitates grain growth, while an increase in B2O3 substitution for Al2O3 hinders the precipitation of LiAlSi4O10 but promotes quartz formation. The glass containing 2 wt% B2O3 with the heat treatment of 560°C/ 4 h+ 680°C/2 h shows a Vickers Hardness value of approximately 7.75 GPa, and a transmittance at 550 nm reaching ∼85%.