Utilizing P2O5 as nucleation agent, a Li2O–ZnO–Al2O3–SiO2 glass was prepared by conventional melt quenching technique and subsequently
converted to glass–ceramics with different crystal phases. During the processing, two-step heat-treatments including nucleation
and crystallization were adopted. The effects of heat-treatment on the crystal type, the microstructure and the thermal expansion behavior
of the glass–ceramics were studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction analysis, scanning electron
microscopy and thermal expansion coefficient tests. It was shown that the crystallization of b0
k-Li2ZnSiO4 occurred after the glass was
treated at 580 C. As the temperature increased from 580 C to 630 C, cristobalite and b0
k-Li2ZnSiO4 were identified as main and second
crystal phases, respectively, in the glass–ceramic. An increase in the temperature to 700 C, the b-quartz solid solution in the glass–ceramic
accompanied by a decrease in cristobalite content. The transformation from b0
k-Li2ZnSiO4 to c0-Li2ZnSiO4 took place from 700 C
to 750 C. The resulting crystallization phases in the glass–ceramics obtained at the temperature higher than 750 C were b-quartz solid
solution and c0-Li2ZnSiO4. The glass–ceramics containing b0
k-Li2ZnSiO4 or b-quartz solid solution crystal phase possessed a microstructure
formed by the development of dendritic crystals. The thermal expansion coefficient of the glass–ceramics varied from 36.7 to
123.8 · 107 C1 in the temperature range of 20–400 C, this precise value is dependent on the type and the proportion of the crystalline
phases presented.