Nanocrystallization and optical property of willemite-type semiconductive Zn₂GeO₄ in glass

A wide band-gap semiconductive oxide Zn₂GeO₄ has recently attracted considerable interest because it is a multifunctional material; excellent photoluminescent (PL) and photocatalytic property, high-capacity anode for lithium batteries, and so on. Recently, present authors' group have fabricated transparent Zn₂GeO₄- nanocrystallized glass from a lithium zincogermanate glass. This article briefly describes a series of our studies on the nanocrystallized glass. Particularly, the phase-formation dynamics in supercooled-liquid phase and PL property of nanocrystallized glasses are presented.