Effect of Ce, Sb, and Sn on Solarization and Crystallization of an X‐Ray‐Irradiated Photosensitive Glass

The effect of Ce, Sb, and Sn photosensitive elements, individually and in combination with each other, on solarization and crystallization of an X-ray irradiated and a nonirradiated lithium silicate-based glass were investigated. According to the results, considering the crystallization behavior of the nonirradiated glasses, they were divided into Ce-bearing and Ce-free groups, in which the former group showed a clearer solarization tendency that manifested as an appearance of an absorbance peak at 318 nm in the spectrophotometry experiment. However, the results showed that in the irradiated glasses, the presence of Sb was more important in terms of improvement in crystallization view. Antimony decreased the differential thermal analysis (DTA) crystallization peak temperature from 655°C to 594°C and, in combination with the two other elements, changed the surface crystallization mechanism to a bulk one. The reactions that seemed to be responsible for the above-mentioned observations were discussed by spectrophotometry, DTA, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopic methods.