Articles
  • Effect of B2O3 on the crystallization behavior and properties of glass-ceramics prepared from copper slag reduction tailings

  • Ju Xua,c,d, Guojun Maa,c,d,*, Zhibo Tonga,b,* and Yunjie Lia,c,d

  • aKey Laboratory for Ferrous Metallurgy and Resources Utilization of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
    bSchool of Materials Science & Engineering, Yangtze Normal University, Chongqing 408100, China
    cState Key Laboratory of Advanced Refractories, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
    dJoint International Research Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China

  • This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The chemical composition of copper slag reduction tailings is similar to that of CaO–Al2O3–SiO2–Fe2O3 system glass-ceramics. Utilizing the copper slag reduction tailings as the primary raw material, glass-ceramics were prepared by the melting method, offering an effective approach for the high-value utilization of copper slag. The effects of varying B2O3 content on the crystallization kinetics, phase composition, and properties of the glass-ceramics were investigated using techniques such as thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy. The addition of B2O3 reduced both the nucleation and crystallization temperatures of the glass-ceramics, thereby promoting crystallization and transforming the crystallization mechanism from surface crystallization to bulk crystallization. With increasing B2O3 content, the crystallization activation energy (E) of the glass-ceramics initially decreased and then increased. The predominant crystalline phase precipitated in the glass-ceramics was anorthite, accompanied by an increased precipitation of wollastonite. The glass-ceramic containing 6 wt% B2O3 exhibited the best overall performance, with a bulk density of 2.95 g·cm⁻³, a water absorption rate of 0.51%, a microhardness of 886.32 HV, and a flexural strength of 230 MPa. In addition, the mass loss rates under acid and alkali resistance tests were 2.2% and 1.9%, respectively.


Keywords: B2O3, Copper slag reduction tailings, Glass-ceramics, Crystallization kinetics, Properties.

This Article

  • 2025; 26(6): 1032-1042

    Published on Dec 31, 2025

  • 10.36410/jcpr.2025.26.6.1032
  • Received on Aug 20, 2025
  • Revised on Nov 1, 2025
  • Accepted on Nov 21, 2025

Correspondence to

  • Guojun Ma a,c,d, Zhibo Tong a,b

  • aKey Laboratory for Ferrous Metallurgy and Resources Utilization of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
    bSchool of Materials Science & Engineering, Yangtze Normal University, Chongqing 408100, China
    cState Key Laboratory of Advanced Refractories, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
    dJoint International Research Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
    Tel: +86-158-2717-6543 Fax: +86-27-68862529 (Guojun Ma)
    Tel: +86-158-7240-6126 (Zhibo Tong)

  • E-mail: gma@wust.edu.cn (Guojun Ma), 404545023@qq.com (Zhi