Preparation of glass-ceramics with diopside as the main crystalline phase from low and medium titanium-bearing blast furnace slag

Because of the low content of TiO2, the utilization of low and medium Ti-bearing blast furnace slag is a difficult problem. In this study, glass-ceramics with diopside as the main crystalline phase was made by using TiO2 in the blast furnace slag as the nucleating agent and adding additional elements of TiO2, Fe2O3 and Cr2O3. The effects of these three nucleating agents on the phase composition and structural properties of the prepared glass-ceramics were evaluated by DSC, XRD, and SEM to determine their optimal dosage. Research results show that the suitable mass percentages of the TiO2, Fe2O3 and Cr2O3 crystal nucleation agents of the glass-ceramics are 7.69%, 0.96%, and 2.88%, respectively. The prepared glass-ceramics have excellent physical and chemical properties, e.g., a bending strength of 114.74 MPa, a bulk density of 2.77 g/cm3, a water absorption rate of 0, and a mass-loss rate of only 0.085%.