Development of Glass Ceramics from Agricultural Wastes

Abstract

Glass and ceramics have become an indispensable part of mankind, starting from home appliances to construction materials. Some common home appliance applications include the finest tableware, cook wares, and even many washing machines and driers. Glass ceramics are smart materials combining the properties of glass with the benefits of conventional sintered ceramics. "Glass ceramics" refers to a material that consists of one/more glass phases with one/more crystalline phases. These materials are typically manufactured, in a controlled nucleation and crystallization of any base glass. In brief, glass ceramic structure comprises an amorphous (glassy) phase with one/multiple embedded crystalline phases. The compositional variation of glass ceramics may design products of highly crystalline to more substantial glassy phase or transparent to opaque materials. To meet the specific requirements, compositional difference may be tuned to have material with zero thermal expansion, high toughness, resistance to thermal shock, and high impact resistance. According to the typical convention of base material, glass ceramics may be of either oxide based (silicate (SiO 2), borate (B 2 O 3), phosphate (P 2 O 5), and germinate (GeO 2)) or non-oxide based (chalcogenide, halide, and metallic). With wide variation of thermal and mechanical characteristics, glass has a broad range of applications like cooktops, toasters, clothes