Evaluation of phase separation in glasses with the use of atomic force microscopy

Thermal behaviour of zircon/zirconia-added chemically durable borosilicate porous glass

“…These spherical droplet like pores with high degree of connectivity are usually formed by spinodal decomposition [15,33]. Whereas, spherical droplets with low connectivity observed with composition A (Figure 11 a) and composition C (Figure 12 b) which is believed due to nucleation and growth process [33]. Figure 12 b) when the heat-treatment temperature is increased from 650 °C to 700 °C.…”

In-situ high temperature Raman and Brillouin light scattering studies of sodium silicate glasses

“…Samples untreated at room temperature, heat-treated at 200°C for 30 min and at 400°C for 30 min, respectively, were prepared for each composition. Afterwards, all of the samples were etched in 0.5% HF solution for 1 min, rinsed in saturated boric acid for 30 s to get rid of the residual HF, then washed in pure ethyl alcohol and dried by compressed air [13]. A MultiMode AFM IIIa system from Veeco was used to scan the etched glass samples under the tapping mode with a fixed scan size of 2 μm and a scan rate of 0.5 Hz.…”

Multi-scale structuration of glasses: Observations of phase separation and nanoscale heterogeneities in glasses by Z-contrast scanning electron transmission microscopy

“…They have been widely studied by electron microscopy, small-angle X-ray (SAXS) and neutron (SANS) diffraction and light scattering [1,[3][4][5][6][7][8]. Chemical and spatial variations have been tracked by AFM analysis, but after etching of the samples [9]. However, comprehensive compositional or structural information below the size of about 50 nm are limited and conventional electron microscopy methods are inconclusive [1].…”