Viscosity and thermal expansion of soda-lime-silica glass doped with Gd2O3 and Y2O3

In order to reveal the effects of rare earth elements on the rheological behavior of silicate melt, the properties of viscosity and thermal expansion of soda-lime-silica glass doped with Gd₂O₃ and Y₂O₃ were investigated by the rotating crucible viscometer and dilatometry. The results show that, introduction of Gd₂O₃ and Y₂O₃ increases the coefficient of thermal expansion and decreases viscosity of soda-lime-silica glass. When the amount of Gd₂O₃ and Y₂O₃ increases from 0 to 1.00 mol%, the coefficient of thermal expansion of soda-lime-silica glass increases firstly from 7.67 to 7.79 and 8.05, and then decreases to 7.78 and 7.66 ( × 10⁻⁶ °C⁻¹) respectively. In the case of melting temperature, its value decreases from 1830K to 1714 K, and then elevates to 1727 K as the content of Gd₂O₃ up to 1.00 mol%, however, as Y₂O₃ content increases from 0 to 1.00 mol% the melting temperature decreases monotonously from 1830K to 1737 K. The viscosity, melting temperature and coefficient of thermal expansion of soda-lime-silica glasses co-doped with Gd₂O₃ and Y₂O₃ are larger, comparing with glasses doped solely with Gd₂O₃ or Y₂O₃. The effect of co-doping with Gd₂O₃ and Y₂O₃ on thermal expansion and viscosity properties of soda-lime-silica glass, which is similar with the mixed-alkali effect in silicate glasses, is also observed.     

The effect of Er3+ and Sm3+ on phase separation and crystallization in Na2O/K2O/BaF2/BaO/Al2O3/SiO2 glasses

Thermal annealing of Sm⁺³ or Er⁺³ doped Na₂O/K₂O/BaF₂/BaO/Al₂O₃/SiO₂ glasses led to the precipitation of nanocrystalline BaF₂. The mean crystallite sizes were in the range from 9 to 15 nm as shown by XRD line broadening. Whereas glasses without rare earth oxides showed crystallites homogenously dispersed in the amorphous matrix, those doped with 0.05 mol% ErF₃ or SmF₃ showed highly agglomerated crystals. The latter was due to droplet phase separation in the rare earth doped glasses as proved by transmission electron microscopy while in the undoped glasses phase separation did not occur. Furthermore, the size of the droplets depended on the BaO-concentration. Fluorescence emission spectra of a samarium doped sample showed higher intensities than in the glasses they were prepared from.     

Effects of gamma irradiation on optical and structural properties of PbO–Bi2O3–B2O3 glasses

Optical and structural properties of xPbO·2xBi₂O₃(1−3x)B₂O₃ glasses of different composition have been studied using UV-VIS and FTIR spectroscopic techniques. Effects of gamma radiations on glass network and structural units have been studied by irradiating glass samples with a ⁶⁰Co radioisotope to the overall dose of 2.5 kGy. It is shown that irradiation causes compaction of the borate network by breaking the bonds between trigonal elements, which leads to a decrease in the optical band gap energy. Changes in the atomic structure before and after the irradiation are observed and explained.     

Verres du systeme La2S3La2O3Ga2O3Ga2S3

The extent of the glass forming region is described as a function of the composition and of the cooling speed. The shape of this region is explained from the previously described La₂S₃La₂O₃Ga₂O₃Ga₂S₃ phase diagram. Glasses are obtained after relatively slow cooling (5°/min), in a definite region of compositions, which coincides with a relatively large concentration of ternary invariants. The thermal properties (transition temperatures and crystallization temperatures) were measured by DTA. For a relatively large region of compositions, glasses return to the equilibrium conditions with intermediate formation of the La_3.33Ga₆S₁₂O₂ metastable crystalline phase. An approach to the structure of the glasses is made by comparison with the crystal structures of the numerous ternary and quaternary crystalline compounds observed in the system, and by the comparison of the Raman spectra. It appears that these gallium oxysulfide glasses have many structural analogies with germanium sulfide glasses.     

Study of the formation of the apatite-type phases La9.33+x(SiO4)6O2+3x/2 synthesized from a lanthanum oxycarbonate La2O2CO3

Lanthanum silicated apatites with nominal composition La_9.33+x(SiO₄)₆O_2+3x/2 (−0.2 < x < 0.27) have been successfully synthesized by solid state reaction using a new reagent La₂O₂CO₃ and amorphous SiO₂ precursors. The formation mechanism of La₂O₂CO₃ reagent, which cannot be purchased, has been followed by in-situ temperature depend XRD of La₂O₃ under CO₂ atmosphere. The stability of this reagent during the synthesis step allowed to limit the formation of secondary phase La₂Si₂O₇ and made the weighting of the reagent easier. High purity powders could be synthesized at the temperature of 1400 °C. Dense pellets (more than 98.5%) were obtained by isostatic pressing of powders calcined at 1200 °C and then sintered at 1550 °C. Traces of La₂SiO₅ secondary phase present in synthesized powder disappeared after densification and pure oxyapatite materials were obtained for all the compositions. Electrical measurements confirmed that conductivity behaviors of the sintered pellets were dependent to the oxygen over-stoichiometry. Indeed, a relatively high conductivity of 1 × 10⁻² S cm⁻¹ was exhibited at 800 °C for the nominal composition La_9.60(SiO₄)₆O_2.405 with low activation energy around 0.79 eV. The ionic conductivity properties were comparable with that of the earlier obtained materials.     

Magnetic materials containing LaSr manganite phase

Ferromagnetic glass–crystalline materials were produced by sintering of glasses from the systems Bi₂O₃B₂O₃MnO and crystalline phase La_0.6Sr_0.4MnO₃. The appropriate preparation procedure was applied as follows: synthesis of the starting components, mixing, milling, pressing and sintering at selected temperatures. The steps of the technological scheme were controlled by X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. Small crystals with size in the order of 1–5 μm were detected by transmission electron microscopy observations [TEM] after heath treatment. The magnetic properties were studied by a vibrating sample magnetometer [VSM] and the Curie temperature was detected at 353 K. The presence of a narrow hysteresis loop proves the ferromagnetic properties of the materials.     

Crystallization of MgFe2O4 from a glass in the system K2O/B2O3/MgO/P2O5/Fe2O3

Spherical magnetic Mg-Fe-O nanoparticles were successfully prepared by the crystallization of glass in the system K₂O/B₂O₃/MgO/P₂O₅/Fe₂O₃. The magnetic glass ceramics were prepared by melting the raw materials using the conventional melt quenching technique followed by a thermal treatment at temperatures in the range 560–700 °C for a time ranging from 2 to 8 h. The studies of the X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and FTIR spectra confirmed the precipitation of finely dispersed spherical (Mg, Fe) based spinel nanoparticles with a minor quantity of hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) in the glass matrix. The average size of the magnetic nano crystals increases slightly with temperature and time from 9 to 15 nm as determined by the line broadening from the XRD patterns. XRD studies show that annealing the glass samples for long periods of time at temperature ≥604 °C results in an increase of the precipitated hematite concentration, dissolution of the spinel phase and the formation of magnesium di-borate phase (Mg₂B₂O₅). For electron microscopy, the particles were extracted by two methods; (i) replica extraction technique and (ii) dissolution of the glass matrix by diluted acetic acid. An agglomeration of the nano crystals to larger particles (25–35 nm) was observed.     

Electrical properties of LiBBaTe glass doped with Nd2O3

The dc and ac electrical conductivity of barium tellurite borate glass doped with Nd₂O₃ in the composition 50 B₂O₃- (20-X) BaO- 20TeO₂ 10 LiF or Li₂O where x = 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 Nd₂O₃ were measured in the temperature range 303–648 K and in the frequency range 0.1–100 kHz. The dc and ac conductivities values increase, whereas the activation energy of conductivities decreases with increasing Nd₂O₃ content in the glasses containing LiF and by the replacement of LiF by Li₂O the conductivity was found to decrease with addition of Nd₂O₃. The electrical conduction has been observed to be due to small polaron hopping at high temperatures. The frequency dependence of the ac conductivity follows the power law σ_AC (ω) = A ω^s. The frequency exponent (s) values (in the range 0.94 and 0.33) decreases with increasing temperature. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss increased with increasing temperature and decreased with increase in frequency for all glasses studied. In LiF glasses, it is observed that, the values of ?^\ and tan δ are observed to increase with the addition of Nd₂O₃ whereas they decrease in the glasses containing Li₂O. The electrical modulus formalism has been used for studying electrical relaxation behavior in studied glasses. It is for first time that the Nd₂O₃ doped barium tellurite borate glasses have been investigated for dc and ac conductivities and dielectric properties over a wide range of frequency and temperature.     

Influence of alkaline earth oxides on thermal stability of oxyfluoride glass

A new type of glass from the Na₂O–MeO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–LaF₃ system where MeO = MgO, CaO, BaO and SrO has been studied. The aim of the investigation was to determine, by means of thermal techniques (DTA and DSC), the influence of alkaline earth ions additions on its thermal stability and the ability of LaF₃ phase to crystallization. The effect of LaF₃ crystallization was analyzed in connection with glass composition expressed by the Al₂O₃/(MeO + Na₂O + 3La₂F₆) ratio varying from 0.4 to 0.8 for the alkaline earth admixtures. The compositions of the glasses have been designed so as to make it possible to define the effect of the charge of the ion modifiers (Na⁺, Me²⁺, La³⁺) on the alumina position in the framework of the glass. Two series of glasses were obtained with a different F⁻ content. The formation of LaF₃ depends directly on the strength of the network and can be control by the Al₂O₃/modifiers ratio as well as the content of fluorine ions. Generally, it can be stated that transparent glass-ceramic with nanocrystallization of LaF₃ can be obtained for Al₂O₃/(Na₂O + MeO + 3La₂F₆) ≤0.6 in the examined glasses. The more the ionicity of the alkaline earth ions the greater the tendency for the crystallization of Me₂LaF₇ and MeF₂. In the glass structure the substitution of oxygen ions by F⁻ ions facilitated the crystallization of LaF₃. Simultaneously, it influenced the thermal stability of the aluminosilicate network and induced the crystallization of appropriate silicates during the heat treatment.     

Crystallization of nano calcium fluoride in CaF2–Al2O3–SiO2 system

The effects of alumina and CaF₂ content on the crystallization behavior, fluorine loss, phase separation mechanism and optical properties of oxyfluoride glass ceramics were investigated. Three series of glasses in which their SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratio was different such as 1.8, 2.18 and 2.5 were examined. Results showed that the adopted ratios played key role significantly in the mechanism of phase separation of the glass. It modified from spinodal decomposition to nucleation and growth by decreasing the mentioned ratio.UV spectroscopy showed that owing to the small size of precipitated CaF₂ crystals, i.e. 20 nm, in the glass with a silicon oxide to alumina ratio of 2.18 and initial CaF₂ amount of 35 mol%, it remained transparent after heat treatment at 740 °C.     

Development of hexa- and mono-celsian in the crystallization of banalsite BaNa2Al4Si4O16 (LiF-CaF2-B2O3) glasses

On the basis of the mineral banalsit (BaNa₂Al₄Si₄O₁₆) and the addition of small B₂O₃ concentrations, transparent glasses were prepared. Furthermore, in order to achieve nucleation, LiF and CaF₂ were added. Hexacelsian was formed in bulk crystallized glass samples whereas, monocelsian, as well as small quantities of nepheline and banalsite were crystallized from sintered glass powder. The scanning electron micrographs of the sintered samples show high crystallinity and crystals with sizes from nano to micrometers. The SEM micrographs and the EDX microanalyses show that nano size rods of monocelsian surrounded by micrometer-sized hexagonal nepheline, banalsite or residual glassy phase occur. The coefficient of thermal expansion of the samples sintered at 1000 °C was higher (12.93–9.52 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹) in hexacelsian containing samples than in monocelsian (2.24–7.35 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹) containing ones. The samples also showed notably different densities of 2.6424 and 2.4718 g/cm³, respectively.     

The Role of Trivalent Element Oxides in Cao (Na2O)–M2O3–SiO2 Glasses From Tg

In this paper T _g values of calcium (sodium) silicate glasses containing added with oxides of trivalent elements are reported. The plots of T _g as a function of composition or vs. the ionic field strength prove to be useful in discussing the role of the oxides in the glass structure. It is found that, at least in the studied composition range, Sc₂O₃, Y₂O₃, La₂O₃, and In₂O₃, behave as network modifier oxides. In the compositional ranges studied, the hypothesis based on them well agree with the expectations based on the known criteria reported in literature and on FTIR spectra. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Fractional precipitation synthesis and photoluminescence of La2Ti2O7:xEu3+ phosphors

Eu³⁺ ions activated La₂Ti₂O₇ (La₂Ti₂O₇:xEu³⁺) phosphors have been successfully synthesized by a fractional precipitation method from commercially available La₂O₃, Eu₂O₃, HNO₃, Ti(SO₄)₂·9H₂O and NH₃·H₂O as the starting materials. Detailed characterizations of the synthetic products were obtained by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetry and derivative thermogravimetry (DTA-TG-DTG), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The results show that the precursor is composed of amorphous particles with quasi-spherical in shape and about 50 nm in size. Moreover, the precursor could be converted into pure La₂Ti₂O₇ phase by calcining at 1000 °C for 2 h in air. The as-synthesized La₂Ti₂O₇ particles are approximate polyhedron in shape and about 100–200 nm in size. PL spectroscopy of La₂Ti₂O₇:xEu³⁺ phosphors reveals that the strongest emission peak is located at 616 nm under 275 nm ultraviolet (UV) light excitation, which corresponds to the ⁵D₀→⁷F₂ transition of Eu³⁺ ions. The quenching concentration of Eu³⁺ ions is 10.0 mol%, and its corresponding fluorescence lifetime was 1.82 ms according to the linear fitting result. Decay study reveals that the ⁵D₀→⁷F₂ transition of Eu³⁺ ions has a single exponential decay behavior.     

Effect of LaF<Subscript>3</Subscript> admixture on thermal stability of borosilicate glasses

Oxyfluoride glass-ceramics based on the aluminosilicate glass-matrix with the nano-phase of fluoride is an interesting material for optoelectronics. A new glass from the SiO₂–B₂O₃–Na₂O–LaF₃ system in which nanocrystallization of LaF₃ could be obtained as well is presented. Thermal stability of glass and the crystalline phases formed upon heat treatment were determined by DTA/DSC and XRD methods, respectively. The effect of the glass composition on thermal stability was investigated by the SEM method. It has been found that the addition of LaF₃ increases the tendency to decomposition of the borosilicate glass. In glasses with the ratio B₂O₃/(Na₂O+3La₂F₆)<1 it is possible to obtain the immersed crystallization of LaF₃ in transparent glassy matrix. The process is preceded by LaOF formation. Glasses with the composition B₂O₃/(Na₂O+3La₂F₆)≥1 revealed the tendency to La(BSiO₅) crystallization.     

Synthesis,X-ray and optical characterizations of two new oxysulfides: LaInS2O and La5In3S9O3

Two new compounds, LaInS₂O and La₅In₃S₉O₃ were synthesized in the La–In–S–O quaternary system. Both compounds crystallize in the orthorhombic system with lattice constants a=20.5421(6) Å, b=14.8490(4) Å, c=3.9829(1) Å for LaInS₂O, and a=4.1018(1) Å, b=26.833(1) Å, c=16.023(1) Å for La₅In₃S₉O₃. The structure of La₅In₃S₉O₃ was solved from single-crystal X-ray data, in the space group Pbcm, with Z=4; it is built from three-atom-thick (100)_NaCl layers interleaved with fluorite-type ribbons, and is closely related to the structures of the known lanthanum and indium compounds La₁₀In₆S₁₇O₆ and La₄In₅S₁₃. Both compounds LaInS₂O and La₅In₃S₉O₃ exhibit a yellow color; measurement of their optical gaps gave 2.73 and 2.60 eV, respectively.     

Non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of V2O5-MoO3-Bi2O3 glasses

Characteristic temperatures, such as T _g (glass transition), T _x (crystallization temperature) and T _l (liquidus temperature) of glasses from the V₂O₅-MoO₃-Bi₂O₃ system were determined by means of differential thermal analysis (DTA). The higher content of MoO₃ improved the thermal stability of the glasses as well as the glass forming ability. The non-isothermal crystallization was investigated and following energies of the crystal growth were obtained: glass #1 (80V₂O₅·20Bi₂O₃) E _G=280 kJ mol^-1, glass #2 (40V₂O₅·30MoO₃·30Bi₂O₃) E _G=422 kJ mol^-1 and glass #3 (80MoO₃·10V₂O₅·10Bi₂O₃) E _G=305 kJ mol^-1. The crystallization mechanism of glass #1 (n=3) is bulk, of glass #3 (n=1) is surface. Bulk and surface crystallization was supposed in glass #2. The presence of high content of a vanadium oxide acts as a nucleation agent and facilitates bulk crystallization. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Phase equilibria in the system La2O3-Na2O-P2O5

In the ternary system La₂O₃-P₂O₅-Na₂O the partial system La₂O₃-Na₄La₂P₄O₁₅-LaPO₄ has been examined by the thermal, dilatometric X-ray and microscopic analyses and its phase diagram provided. The lanthanum oxyphosphate La₃PO₇ melts incongruently at the 1590°C temperature and crystallizes in a monoclinic systema=11.20 Å,b=11.94 Å,c=7.01 Å,=93.79 andV=936.97 ų.

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Zusammenfassung Mittels Thermo- und dilatometrischer Analyse, Röntgendiffraktionsuntersuchungen und Mikroskopie wurde das Teilsystem La₂O₃ - Na₄La₂P₄O₁₅ - LaPO₄ des ternären Systemes La₂O₃ - P₂O₅ - Na₂O untersucht und ein Phasendiagramm entwickelt. Lanthanoxyphosphat La₃O₇ schmilzt inkongruent bei 1590°C und kristalliert in einem monoklinen System mita=11.20 Ä,b=11.94 Ä,c=7.01 Å,=93.79 undV=936.97 ų.

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The author thanks Mrs. B. Lagódka for the technical assistance (thermogravimetric analyses). The thermal study was supported by grant CPBP.     

Effect of the ratio R = [Na2O]/[B2O3] on the structure of glass in the Na2O-B2O3-SiO2 system

Sodium borosilicate glass, with the ratio R = [Na₂O]/[B₂O₃] varied from 0.31 to 1, were studied by IR spectroscopy and Raman scattering techniques. The dependence of the structure of borosilicate glasses on their composition was studied also for the section with a constant value R = 1. The main borate and silicate groups in the system, and especially changes in the structure of glasses depending on the ratio R were identified.     

Effects on the Thermal Properties and Bioactivity of Substitution of CaO by M2O3 (M=La, Y, Al) in Wollastonite Glass

The effects on the thermal properties and bioactivity of the substitution of CaO by La₂O₃, Y₂O₃ and Al₂O₃ in a glass of composition CaO·SiO₂ were studied and compared. The trivalent metal oxides were all effective in raising the glass transformation and softening temperatures when they replaced CaO in the glass of composition CaO·SiO₂. The experimental results suggest that Al₂O₃ plays the role of a glass-former, while La₂O₃ and Y₂O₃ behave as glass-modifiers. The tendency to devitrify appears to be the lower, the farther the glass composition is from those of the crystalline phases, owing to the need for diffusion over longer distances, the greater the composition difference. The substitution with the trivalent metal oxides is detrimental to the bioactivity, which is preserved only in the event of very small degrees of substitution. The most negative role appears to be played by Al₂O₃. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Glasses in the La2S3-Ga2S3-Sm2S3 system: Synthesis and physicochemical characterization

The glass formation boundaries in the La₂S₃-Ga₂S₃-Sm₂S₃ system have been determined using physicochemical methods (DTA, thermogravimetry, powder X-ray diffraction, and microstructure examination). The thermal stability and IR spectra of newly synthesized phases have been studied. Glasses of composition (Ga₂S₃)_0.60 (La₂S₃)_0.20 (Sm₂S₃)_0.20 at 865 K are stable in atmospheric oxygen. The IR spectra of binary and ternary glasses are practically identical. The IR bands associated with M-S vibrations in the glasses have higher intensities and appear at higher frequencies than the same bands in the spectra of the crystalline components, which is likely due to the strengthened covalence of the M-S bonds in the glasses.