Transmission electron microscopy and in situ Raman studies of glassy sanbornite: An insight into nucleation trend and its relation to structural variation

In situ observation of Raman scattering in glassy sanbornite (BaSi(2)O(5)) showing homogeneous nucleation was performed during heating to investigate the structural variation in the glassy/supercooled-liquid phase in the pre- and postnucleation regimes. It was observed that the formation of Q(2) units accelerates around 400 degrees C, which is well below T(g), just after structural relaxation in the Ba-enriched/-cohesive region. The relation between the structural variation and the nucleation trend in glassy sanbornite was also discussed on the basis of transmission electron microscopy and in situ Raman results and previous Boson observation [Takahashi et al. Appl. Phys. Lett. 94, 211907 (2009). (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3487473]