Growth Of Devitrite, Na2Ca3Si6016, In Soda-Lime-Silica Glass

The morphology and crystal growth of devitrite crystals nucleated heterogeneously on glass surfaces have been studied. The crystals grow as fans of the needles, with each needle having a characteristic growth direction with respect to the centro-symmetric triclinic unit cell. An analysis of crystal growth data reported here and a re-appraisal of crystal growth data reported in prior studies suggests a best estimate of 260 kJ/mol for the activation enthalpy for the crystal growth of devitrite along [100], higher than the values previously reported.