Kinetics of crystal growth of Sb2S3 in (GeS2)0.3(Sb2S3)0.7 glass

The crystal growth kinetics of antimony sulfide in (GeS2)0.3(Sb2S3)0.7 glass has been studied by DSC and microscopy. The linear crystal growth kinetics has been observed in the temperature range 271 ⩽ T ⩽ 310 °C (EG = 288 ± 7 kJ mol−1). In fact the crystal growth takes place in the volume of highly viscous (4 × 107 > η > 3 × 104 Pa s), supercooled melt. The applicability of standard growth models has been assessed. From the reduced growth rate plot (i.e., growth rate corrected for viscosity) as a function of supercooling we find that the most probable mechanism is interface controlled 2D nucleated growth. The non-isothermal DSC data, corresponding to the bulk sample, can be described by the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami equation that provides a reasonable description of crystallization behavior also for partially crystallized samples. However, further analysis of DSC data reveals that this equation cannot be applied for the powder sample even in isothermal conditions.