Microstructural Evolution in Some Silicate Glass–Ceramics: A Review

Just as the microstructures in glass–ceramics encompass the range from nanocrystalline transparent materials to microcrystalline tough materials, so the paths of microstructural evolution in glass–ceramics vary widely. Evolution can proceed in numerous ways, their genesis being a perturbation of some type, including the surface nucleation used in glass frit processing, crystallization of the primary phase or phases upon distinct crystalline nuclei, and nucleation promoted by nano‐ or microscale amorphous phase separation in the parent glass. Examples of the crystallization history of several glass–ceramic materials are described, with emphasis on how their microstructural evolution influences their ultimate physical and optical properties.