Effects of TiO2 and P2O5 on solarization and crystallization of photosensitive lithium silicate glass

• Photosensitive lithium silicate glasses under ultraviolet radiation were prepared.
• Effects of adding TiO2 and P2O5 on solarization and crystallization were studied.
• Adding 2 wt.% P2O5 to this system could be an acceptable nucleating agent.
• Lithium disilicate crystalline phase formed only in P2O5-containing samples.
• Adding 4 wt.% TiO2 resulted in shielding behavior against the UV light.

In this study, the parent photosensitive glass and glass-ceramic in the system of lithium silicate containing AgCl under radiation of ultraviolet (UV) light were successfully prepared by melting process. Besides, the effects of adding TiO2 and P2O5 as nucleating agents on the solarization and crystallization of lithium silicate photosensitive glass were studied. The characteristics of the samples were identified by ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy (UV-Visible), simultaneous thermal analysis (STA-TG/DTA), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that adding P2O5 in the amount of 2 wt.% to this system could be an acceptable nucleating agent, while adding 4 wt.% TiO2 to it resulted in shielding behavior against the UV light. Therefore, this amount of TiO2 is not successful in both solarization improvement and nucleation process. In addition, lithium disilicate crystalline phase formed only in the samples containing P2O5.