Investigation on thermal and microstructural characterization of the TeO2–WO3 system

Thermal and microstructural characterization of the TeO2–WO3 binary system was accomplished by applying differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. Different compositions of the (1 − x)TeO2–xWO3 system, where x varies between 0.02 and 0.80 in molar ratio were studied. The samples were prepared by melting high purity powder mixtures of TeO2 and WO3 in a platinum crucible with a closed lid at 750 °C for 30 min and quenching in water bath. The glass forming range of the binary system was detected as 0.04 ≤ x ≤ 0.35 in molar ratio. As-cast samples were heat-treated above the crystallization peak temperatures at 550 °C for 24 h to obtain thermal stability and the phase stability of the binary system was investigated by performing systematical thermal, phase and microstructural characterizations with the heat-treated samples. The eutectic reaction of the binary system was detected at 617 ± 3 °C, the endothermic reaction indicating the phase transformation reaction of WO3 from orthorhombic to tetragonal was determined at 743 ± 1 °C. α-TeO2 and orthorhombic WO3 crystalline phases were found to be present in the final structure when the total crystallization was achieved. Microstructural characterization of the TeO2–WO3 system was realized for a wide compositional range for the first time in the literature.

► In the present study, thermal and microstructural characterization of the TeO2–WO3 binary system were investigated by applying differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. ► The glass forming region of the binary system was determined as 0.04 ≤ x ≤ 0.35 and the glass sample containing 25 mol% WO3 showed the highest vitrification behavior. ► The eutectic reaction of the system was detected at 617 ± 3 °C, the endothermic reaction indicating the phase transformation reaction of WO3 was determined at 743 ± 1 °C and α-TeO2 and orthorhombic WO3 crystalline phases were found when the final crystallization was achieved. ► SEM micrographs revealed that with increasing WO3 content, the granular shape of the α-TeO2 crystalline phase converted into a leaf like structure and the precipitated WO3 crystalline phase along the grain boundaries turned into angular grains sprawling throughout the structure.