Ceramics-Silikáty 53 (2) 128-136 (2009)

THE NUCLEATION BEHAVIOR OF K₂O·TiO₂·3GeO₂ UNDERCOOLED MELT

S. R.Grujić, N. S. Blagojević, M. B.Tošić, V. D. Živanović, J. D.Nikolić

The nucleation of K₂TiGe₃O₉ crystals in an undercooled melt of stoichiometric composition was studied. Volume nucleation with spherical morphology of the growing crystals was determined. The nucleation range is in the temperature interval 540 - 630°C. A maximum of the steady state nucleation rate of I^max = 1.4×10¹⁵ m^-3∙s^-1 was determined at the temperature T_n^max = 582°C. The temperature and time dependence of the nucleation rate was analyzed and it was shown that such a nucleation behavior was the result of a low thermodynamic and kinetic barrier. The results showed that the temperature intervals of nucleation and crystal growth of this undercooled melt partly overlapped.

Keywords: Undercooled melt, Homogenous nucleation, K₂TiGe₃O₉