New Developments in the Field of Glass Ceramics

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Nucleation in a precursor glass for a Li2O-Al2O3-SiO2 glass ceramic Part 1. Nucleation kinetics

The nucleation of the parent glass of a Li2O-Al2O3-SiO2 glass ceramic is determined. The two-step development method is applied utilizing a specially developed device which allows quantitative determination of nucleation rates despite of the strong tendency for nucleation. The influence of nucleation on the transmission of the glass ceramic is investigated to obtain criteria for optimal nucleation conditions for ceramization of the glass. Nucleation is markedly characterized by non-stationary behaviour. The existence of delay times which depend as well on development temperature as on thermal history of the glass is of great importance for the processing of the glass. The impact of nucleation kinetics on the production of the glass ceramic is explained by means of TTT diagrams

Nanoscopic Study of the Ion Dynamics in a LiAlSiO4_4 Glass Ceramic by means of Electrostatic Force Spectroscopy

We use time-domain electrostatic force spectroscopy (TD-EFS) for characterising the dynamics of mobile ions in a partially crystallised LiAlSiO$_4$ glass ceramic, and we compare the results of the TD-EFS measurements to macroscopic electrical conductivity measurements. While the macroscopic conductivity spectra are determined by a single dynamic process with an activation energy of 0.72 eV, the TD-EFS measurements provide information about two distinct relaxation processes with different activation energies. Our results indicate that the faster process is due to ionic movements in the glassy phase and at the glass-crystal interfaces, while the slower process is caused by ionic movements in the crystallites. The spatially varying electrical relaxation strengths of the fast and of the slow process provide information about the nano- and mesoscale structure of the glass ceramic.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Nucleation at cordierite glass surfaces: Kinetic aspects

The surface nucleation of high-quartz sohd Solution crystals at fractured surfaces of glasses of the stoichiometric cordierite composition (2MgO · 2AI₂O₃ · 5SiO₂) was studied by optical microscopy. Particular attention was focused on the nucleation kinetics. Α constant nucleation density, Ν ≈ 10⁻⁴ μm⁻², was found not to be significantly influenced by the time and the temperature of nucleation treatment. Even a very fast heating of samples employing heating rates u p to 1200 K/min does not lower Ν substantially. However, for small average crystal diameters ( < 2 0 μm) a distribution of crystal size in the same order of magnitude is detectable indicating a simultaneous appearance of b o t h measurable nucleation rates and growth velocities. It can be concluded that the surface nucleation of µ-cordierite occurs during the thermal treatment from a limited number of preferred nucleation sites; these sites are "used Up" rapidly enough to cause a strong Saturation effect of nucleation, but slow enough to cause a crystal size distribution at the same time. The surface nucleation rate, Is , was calculated from the observed distribution of crystal sizes. Is progressively increases with rising temperature similar to the crystal growth velocity indicating a broad temperature ränge of essential nucleation activity. The latter must be regarded as t he main obstacle to measure or to control surface nucleation density by means of two-step nucleation and growth treatments and must therefore be claimed to be mainly responsible for the observed constancy of N

Sintering and crystallization of glasses with roedderite-type composition (Na, K)2Mg5Si12O30

Two glass powders of roedderite-type composition (Na2Mg5Si12O30 and NaKMg5Si12O30) have been prepared for sintering and crystallization experiments. Glass powder of sodium roedderite composition sinters to a dense body after 15 to 60 min at 800 to 850 °C before crystallization. The sintered body crystallizes easily to give roedderite as the main phase. Sodium-potassium-roedderite glass powder can be sintered to a dense body, too, though the sintering rate is lower. This is due to the higher viscosity of the sodium-potassium-roedderite glass. The amount of crystallized roedderite is smaller in the sodium-potassium composition whereas the amount of residual glass is higher. This influences the thermal expansion of the compact, which is higher than in the sodium roedderite glass-ceramic. The thermal expansion coefficient of the latter is close to that of pure crystaline sodium roedderite

Ionic conductivity in Li2O-Al2O3-SiO2 based glasses and glass ceramics

The complex conductivity of lithium aluminosilicate based glasses and glass-ceramics (Zerodur from Schott) has been investigated in a broad range of temperatures (200 K &lt; T &lt; 700 K) and frequencies (10 mHz&lt;v&lt;2.5 THz). The data are presented in terms of the conductivity and the electrical modulus formalisms. The width of the modulus loss peak as measured for the ceramic sample is broader than that determined for its precursor glass. This result is shown to be associated with the considerably smaller dc conductivity of this material.</jats:p

A novel copper oxalate, Na2Cu(C2O4)2

The authors thank the Royal Society for the award of a Newton Fellowship (NF140881) to W.Y.A novel copper oxalate Na2Cu(C2O4)2 was synthesized through a hydrothermal method and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. It crystallizes in monoclinic system, P21/n space group with a = 72578(3) Å, b = 5.7711(4) Å, c = 8.6604(8) Å, β = 106.948(9)°. The structure displays a novel stacking pattern of [Cu(C2O4)2]2– units connected through electrostatic attraction by Na+ cations. Structural comparisons are made to related compounds.PostprintPeer reviewe

A genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screen reveals the requirement of host sphingomyelin synthase 1 for infection with Pseudorabies virus mutant gD–Pass

Herpesviruses are large DNA viruses, which encode up to 300 different proteins including enzymes enabling efficient replication. Nevertheless, they depend on a multitude of host cell proteins for successful propagation. To uncover cellular host factors important for replication of pseudorabies virus (PrV), an alphaherpesvirus of swine, we performed an unbiased genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 forward screen. To this end, a porcine CRISPR-knockout sgRNA library (SsCRISPRko.v1) targeting 20,598 genes was generated and used to transduce porcine kidney cells. Cells were then infected with either wildtype PrV (PrV-Ka) or a PrV mutant (PrV-gD–Pass) lacking the receptor-binding protein gD, which regained infectivity after serial passaging in cell culture. While no cells survived infection with PrV-Ka, resistant cell colonies were observed after infection with PrV-gD–Pass. In these cells, sphingomyelin synthase 1 (SMS1) was identified as the top hit candidate. Infection efficiency was reduced by up to 90% for PrV-gD–Pass in rabbit RK13-sgms1KO cells compared to wildtype cells accompanied by lower viral progeny titers. Exogenous expression of SMS1 partly reverted the entry defect of PrV-gD–Pass. In contrast, infectivity of PrV-Ka was reduced by 50% on the knockout cells, which could not be restored by exogenous expression of SMS1. These data suggest that SMS1 plays a pivotal role for PrV infection, when the gD-mediated entry pathway is blocked