Gallium triggered crystallization of spinel glass-ceramic and enhancement in colorization and luminescence

Abstract

Spinel glass-ceramic is an important class of composites with promising applications in transparent antiriot shields, tunable lasers and broadband optical amplifiers. Although the crystallization process of spinel has been well studied, the approach for tuning it and the optical response of the resultant glass-ceramic still need urgent attention. Here, we posit that the addition of Ga2O3 can significantly improve the crystallization tendency of the spinel phase and greatly change the optical response of the glass-ceramic. On one hand, the colourization of glass-ceramic can be tuned, and an unusual blue colour can be achieved. On the other hand, the luminescence can be notably enhanced, and the resultant spinel glass-ceramic exhibits intense green-yellow luminescence. The present findings about the Ga2O3-mediated structure modification and optical response tuning can provide an effective avenue for the functionalization of spinel glass-ceramic and may be general for various types of material candidates.