Spontaneous crystallization of PbCl2 nanocrystals in GeS2-Sb2S3 based chalcogenide glasses

Abstract Novel chalcogenide glasses and glass-ceramics of (100-x)(0.5GeS 2 –0.5Sb 2 S 3 )–xPbCl 2 (x = 0, 3, 5, 8, 10, 15, 20, and 25) were prepared by single-step melt-quenching technique, and their transmission spectra and thermo-mechanical properties are characterized. The solubility and spontaneous crystallization behavior of PbCl 2 are investigated by employing various techniques of XRD, SEM, and Raman spectra. Two-stage crystal growth was found in these samples with the increase of PbCl 2 content (x). The crystallization behavior of oversaturation and recrystallization of PbCl 2 in glasses is totally different from the typical nucleation and crystal growth initiated by thermal treatment. Especially, transparent chalcogenide glass-ceramic embedded PbCl 2 nanoparticles (~20 nm) was successfully fabricated when x reaches 10 mol%. This study is of guidance significance for future design and elaboration of optically functionalized chalcogenide glass-ceramics.