Flexibility of Structure and Glass-Forming Ability: A Chemical Approach

Abstract—The flexibility of the internal structure of solids stems from the free motion of their structural units without discontinuity of the structure as a whole. The flexibility is a necessary factor for the formation of a disordered glass structure and determines the glass-forming ability and sizes of glass formation regions in oxide systems. The glass transition phenomenon is a consequence and an indication of the high flexibility of glass structure. Crystallization of a multicomponent glass is governed, to a large extent, by structural–chemical factors. The sequence of the formation of different crystalline phases along the crystallization path with an increase in temperature corresponds to the sequence of liberation of glass structure components, which is determined by the strength of chemical bonds and the flexibility of glass structure.