Effect of Sn Concentration on the Structural and Thermal Properties of SnxSb20Se80−x Glasses

Abstract

SnxSb20Se80−x bulk glasses were prepared using the well-known melt quenching technique, where x was taken as 7.5 at.%, 9.5 at.%, 11.5 at.% and 13 at.%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetery (DSC) were used to monitor the crystallinity and transition temperatures, respectively. XRD examinations showed that the 7.5 at.% and 9.5 at.% compositions were purely amorphous, while the other two compositions exhibited a crystalline structure. DSC thermograms demonstrated that 7.5 at.% and 9.5 at.% alloys had a single crystallization peak, whereas for the 11.5 at.% and 13 at.% alloys, two exothermic peaks and three peaks appeared. The glass stability and kinetics of amorphization and crystallization were studied using different approaches. The correlation between topological constraints and the dimensionality of the growth was established.