Nanocrystallization of TiO 2 Anatase Phase in Hydrophobic BaO – TiO 2 – B 2 O 3 Glass System

Transparent colorless glasses in the ternary BaO–TiO 2 –B 2 O 3 system were fabricated via conventional melt‐quenching technique. The glasses with certain molar concentrations of BaO and TiO 2 on heat treatment at appropriate temperatures yielded nanocrystalline phase of TiO 2 associated with the crystallite size in the 5–15 nm range. Nanocrystallized glasses exhibited high refractive index ( n = 2.15) measured at λ = 543 nm. These glasses were found to be hydrophobic in nature associated with the contact angle of 90 o . These high‐index glass nanocrystal composites would be of potential interest for optical device applications.