Migration of alumina grain boundaries containing a thin glass film Original Research Article

Bicrystals of alumina containing a glassy phase were produced by hot-pressing. Annealing the bicrystals at high temperatures (where a liquid forms at the boundary) can result in migration of the grain boundary. The migration of the boundary proceeds by the solution/reprecipitation mechanism. Many of the features of the migration closely resemble diffusion-induced grain-boundary migration but some important differences are identified.