The first bioactive glass, 45S5, discovered by Hench in 1969, remains as the "Gold standard" in the field of bioactive glasses due to its excellent bioactivity. 1,2 It has been used for numerous applications including hard and soft tissue regeneration, 3-6 oral care and cosmetic products. 7,8 Particulates of 45S5 glass have been commercialized in several successful medical products including Perioglas ® (NovaBone Products LLC), Novabone ® (NovaBone Products LLC), and NovaMin ® (Glaxo-Smith-Kline). 9 However, due to its limited ability of densification associated with crystallization during sintering, 10,11 the shaping of 45S5 glass into complex structure at elevated temperatures remains challenging. So far, there has been no commercial 3D-structured products made from 45S5 glass using a high-temperature processing method. Extensive studies have been conducted to investigate the crystallization mechanism and kinetics in 45S5 glasses to

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Despite the important role of strontium aluminosilicate glasses in various technologies, there is no available phase diagram for this ternary system in the ACerS‐NIST Phase Equilibria Diagrams Database. Establishing the liquidus surface (liquidus temperature Tliq and primary devitrification phase) is crucial for glass composition design, because the liquidus temperature is intimately connected with the glass‐forming ability of the melt. In this work, we have determined the liquidus surface by X‐ray diffraction phase analyses of isothermally reacted samples from powder mixtures of 24 compositions. In the composition range of interest for industrial glasses, Tliq tends to decrease with increasing strontium‐to‐alumina ratio. We find that cristobalite, mullite, and slawsonite are the dominant devitrification phases for the compositions with high SiO2, SiO2+Al2O3, and SrO contents, respectively. By comparison with the phase diagrams for CaO‐Al2O3‐SiO2 and MgO‐Al2O3‐SiO2 systems, we have found that for the highest [RO]/[Al2O3] ratios, Tliq exhibits a minimum value for R = Ca. Based on the phase diagram established here, the composition of glass materials, for example, for liquid crystal display substrates, belonging to the SrO‐Al2O3‐SiO2 family may be designed with a more exact control of the glass‐forming ability by avoiding the regions of high liquidus temperature.

Transparent materials with high strength and toughness are highly demanded as engineering materials for consumer electronic, structural, and optical applications. Inspired by the “brick‐and‐mortar” structure in nacre, transparent glass/polymer composites have demonstrated an exceptionally high toughness and impact resistance. However, these composites suffer from low strength and low working temperatures due to polymeric components. Herein, a simple bioinspired approach to achieve a combination of high fracture toughness (KIC = 2.0 MPa m1/2) and optical transparency in a lithium disilicate/apatite glass‐ceramic through the creation of an acicular crystalline phase and a weak glassy interface is reported. This bioinspired approach represents a new pathway to manufacturing transparent materials for a variety of applications where mechanical performance is a necessity.

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