Determination of Activation Energy of Amorphous to Crystalline Transformation for Bi2S3 chalcogenide Glasses by Using Isoconversional Methods

In this work, the structure and kinetics of the crystallization reaction of amorphous Bi2S3 chalcogenide glasses were investigated using powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques under non-isothermal conditions with different heating rates (10-30 K/min). The DSC crystallization data is analyzed using the isoconversional models. The results revealed that the activation energy strongly depends on the rate of heating by applying the equivalent transformation method proposed by Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS), Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO), Tang, Starink, and Vyazovkin. These modifications suggest that transforming from the amorphous to the crystalline phase in Bi2S3 chalcogenide glasses was a complicated process involving a variety of nucleation and growth mechanisms.