Effect of melting temperature on the structure of self-crystallized Ba2LaF7 glass-ceramics

The self-crystallization phenomenon in glass can provide low-phonon energy environment for the up-conversion of luminescence centers. Nevertheless, the crystallization mechanism is not clear, hence the effect of temperature on the self-crystallization of Ba2LaF7: Er3+/Yb3+ glass-ceramics via adjusting its melting temperature has investigated. The self-crystallization fraction of Ba2LaF7 has decreased with the increase in melting temperature. The Fourier transforms infrared spectra, X-ray Fluorescence analysis and differential thermal analysis revealed that the increase in temperature makes the Si-O bond longer in the glass, resulting in the increase of activation energy for crystallization instead of precipitating the crystals.