Modern aspects of the kinetic theory of glass transition

This paper reviews glass transition kinetics models that are developed to describe the formation of structural (for example, covalent and metallic) glasses, as well as to account for the transition of a polymer to a solid glassy state. As the two approaches most frequently used over the last decade to model the glass transition, the Tool–Narayanaswamy–Moynihan model and the Adam–Gibbs theory of glass transition are described together with examples of their applications. Also discussed are entropy-based approaches that rely on irreversible thermodynamics methods originated in the work of De Donder, Mandelstam, and Leontovich. The actual problems that arise in applying these methods and the prospects of their development are discussed. A brief overview of statistical glass transition models is given, including the mode-coupling and energy-landscape theories.