Non-bridging oxygens in borate glasses: characterization by 11B and 17O MAS and 3QMAS NMR

The concentrations of non-bridging oxygens (NBO) in oxide glasses has major effects on their properties and on those of their precursor glass melts. In borate and borosilicate glasses, the presence of NBO bonded to boron has generally been inferred from 11B NMR spectra and mass balance considerations. Here we report the direct observation of such NBO using 17O MAS and 3QMAS techniques, and compare estimates of their populations with those derived from high-resolution 11B MAS spectra. For the latter, two independent methods are used, based on the ratios of trigonal to tetrahedral boron and on the concentrations of trigonal boron sites with large quadrupolar asymmetry parameters. We include data on crystalline sodium pyroborate (Na4B2O5) and sodium metaborate (NaBO2), and several sodium and barium borate glasses. 17O chemical shifts and quadrupolar coupling constants for NBO bonded to boron vary considerably depending on their coordination environment. In borosilicates, peaks for this species may be hidden by overlap with B-O-Si or Si-O-Si resonances.     

NMR Insights into Wasteforms for the Vitrification of High-Level Nuclear Waste

Magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance of ¹¹B, ²⁹Si and ²⁷Al has been used to study the distribution of nonbridging oxygen atoms (NBO) in an alkali borosilicate glass to which surrogate oxides for high-level radioactive waste have been added. The properties of such glasses are shown to depend on the fraction N ₄ of four-coordinated boron atoms (B4) and on the fraction of silicate tetrahedra possessing one NBO, Q³. The aqueous corrosion rate increases with Q³ content, as does weight loss due to evaporation from the melt. The activation energy for direct current conduction scales with N ₄. Values of N ₄ obtained for these glasses deviate from those predicted by the currently accepted model and are strongly affected by the modifier or intermediate nature of the surrogate oxide and also by its effect on the distribution of NBO between the silicate and borate polyhedra. Authors' address: Diane Holland, Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK     

Li_2O-(LiCl)_2-B_2O_3-Al_2O_3系玻璃的红外光谱

本工作系统地测量和分析了Li_O-(LiCl)_2-B_2O_3-Al_2O_3系玻璃的红外光谱,据此研究了玻璃中硼的配位数和硼酸盐结构基团随组成的变化以及Al~(3+)和Cl~-离子在结构中所起的作用,并对光谱中某些吸收峰机理作了定性探讨。     

Principles of Pyrex® glass chemistry: structure–property relationships

Pyrex^® glass was one of the first commercial boroaluminosilicate glass compositions, selected in 1915 from thousands of compositions due to its ability to sustain mechanical and thermal shock. While the microscopic structure of Pyrex^® glass has recently been investigated, the microscopic origins of its macroscopic properties are not well understood, i.e., the atomic scale foundation of the original empirical invention of Pyrex^® glass has yet to be established. In this work, we have tackled this problem by investigating the effects of varying Si/Al and Na/B ratios on the boron and aluminum speciation and a range of physical and rheological properties in the Pyrex^® glass family. We show that the canonical Pyrex^® boroaluminosilicate composition is indeed optimal for attaining relatively high values of glass transition temperature and elastic moduli and a low coefficient of thermal expansion, while simultaneously maintaining a high glass-forming ability.     

First-principles studies of effects of interstitial boron and carbon on the structural,elastic, and electronic properties of Ni solution and Ni_3Al intermetallics

The effects of boron and carbon on the structural, elastic, and electronic properties of both Ni solution and Ni_3Al intermetallics are investigated using first-principles calculations. The results agree well with theoretical and experimental data from previous studies and are analyzed based on the density of states and charge density. It is found that both boron and carbon are inclined to occupy the Ni-rich interstices in Ni_3Al, which gives rise to a cubic interstitial phase. In addition,the interstitial boron and carbon have different effects on the elastic moduli of Ni and Ni_3Al. The calculation results for the G/B and Poisson's ratios further demonstrate that interstitial boron and carbon can both reduce the brittleness of Ni, thereby increasing its ductility. Meanwhile, boron can also enhance the ductility of the Ni_3Al while carbon hardly has an effect on its brittleness or ductility.     

Structure of iron phosphate glasses modified by alkali and alkaline earth additions: neutron and x-ray diffraction studies

The structure of iron phosphate glasses modified by additions of K(2)O and BaO, with nominal molar compositions [(1 - x)(0.6P(2)O(5)-0.4Fe(2)O(3))]xMe(y)O, where x = 0-0.4 in increments of 0.1; Me=K or Ba; and y = 1 or 2, has been investigated using neutron diffraction and x-ray diffraction techniques. Fitted coordination numbers for P-O and Fe-O showed a notable change in the P-O(NBO) and P-O(BO) contributions at greater than 20 mol% modifier addition, with barium producing a markedly larger increase in P-O(NBO) contribution than potassium. Fitting of T(N)(r) and T(X)(r) provided average n(BaO) = 9 and n(KO) = 6. Iron occurs in a range of coordination sites in these glasses: ([6])Fe(2+), ([4])Fe(3+), ([5])Fe(3+) and ([6])Fe(3+). The partitioning between these sites gives average n(FeO) = 5.2-5.8, with barium-doped glasses exhibiting higher average n(FeO) than potassium-doped glasses. The stronger depolymerizing effect of Ba(2+) than K(+) on the phosphate network, coupled with its greater ionic charge and higher Me-O, Fe-O and O···O coordination numbers, explain previously observed divergences in physical properties between the barium-doped and the potassium-doped glasses.     

Cerium and boron chemistry in doped borosilicate glasses examined by EELS

Spatially resolved measurements of boron coordination and cerium valency in a doped borosilicate glass with crystalline nano-precipitates are described. The fine structure of the boron K-edge and the white-line ratio of the cerium M-edge doublet were evaluated from EELS line scans. Due to high beam sensitivity it was found that reliable boron-coordination measurements in some of the glasses studied required extrapolation of results acquired after different periods of irradiation back to a zero-irradiation. However, borosilicates that contained heavy alkali atoms were found to suffer very little structural change. The Ce valency of a 4% (molar) doped alkali-borosilicate glass was found to be mixed +III/+IV in the glass matrix and purely +IV (indicative of CeO2) in the precipitates. A significant dependency of the valence results on the data processing method was found and explained.     

B12-nAlnN12 (n=0, 6, 12) 的稳定性和电子结构研究

通过Al取代B在B12N12中掺杂,基于密度泛函理论对B6Al6N12的稳定性进行了系统研究．表明在B6Al6N12中,Al和B倾向于相对分开．在最稳定结构中,B原子和Al原子分别处在笼的两半．我们还分析了B12-nAlnN12 (n=0, 6, 12)的电子结构,B12N12的能隙为6.84eV,掺Al后其能隙明显变窄,Al12N12和B6Al6N12的能隙分别为3.91eV和4.08eV．NBO分析表明,B12N12中B/N原子的电荷分别为±1.17,Al12N12中Al/N 原子的电荷分别为±1.85．在B6Al6N12中,B/Al原子上的电荷分别为1.06~1.12和1.86~1.91,N原子上的电荷为-1.18~-1.83．     

B12-nAlnN12 (n=0, 6, 12) 的稳定性和电子结构研究

通过Al取代B在B12N12中掺杂,基于密度泛函理论对B6Al6N12的稳定性进行了系统研究．表明在B6Al6N12中,Al和B倾向于相对分开．在最稳定结构中,B原子和Al原子分别处在笼的两半．我们还分析了B12-nAlnN12 (n=0, 6, 12)的电子结构,B12N12的能隙为6.84eV,掺Al后其能隙明显变窄,Al12N12和B6Al6N12的能隙分别为3.91eV和4.08eV．NBO分析表明,B12N12中B/N原子的电荷分别为±1.17,Al12N12中Al/N 原子的电荷分别为±1.85．在B6Al6N12中,B/Al原子上的电荷分别为1.06~1.12和1.86~1.91,N原子上的电荷为-1.18~-1.83．     

阳离子对硅酸盐玻璃激光拉曼光谱影响的研究

运用拉曼光谱技术研究了Na2O(K2O)—CaO(MgO)—SiO2,Na2O(K2O)—Al2O3—SiO2,Na2O(K2O)—B2O3—SiO2,Na2O(K2O)—PbO—SiO2和PbO—BaO—SiO2五个系统的玻璃。结果表明,阳离子对玻璃近程结构的改造会引起拉曼特征的变化。部分样品是根据古玻璃平均成分在实验室烧制的,这项研究对于运用激光拉曼光谱区分不同系统的古代硅酸盐玻璃有重要意义。     

Internal absorption spectrum of boron doped compensated silicon Si(B,P)

Internal absorption spectrum of boron acceptor impurities in Si(B, P) is investigated at liquid helium temperature. The effect of internal coulomb field, due to the compensation, on the boron internal 2p' line is found to be greater than on the boron external acceptor lines.     

在硅酸盐矿物,玻璃和熔体中Si和Al的配位与局部结构：K—边 …

本文采用步辐射的ＳｉＫ－边Ｘ－射线吸收近边结构（ＸＡＮＥＳ）谱研究了Ｓｉ在ＳｉＯ２－Ｐ２Ｏ５和Ｎａ２Ｏ－ＳｉＯ２－Ｐ２Ｏ５的低压磷硅酸盐玻璃中结构与配位,以及Ｓｉ的配位几何随玻璃中Ｐ２Ｏ５含量而变化：同步辐射的Ａｌ Ｋ－边ＸＡＮＥＳ谱研究了Ａｌ在铝硅酸盐成分为ＮａＡｌＳｉ２Ｏ６－ＮａＡｌＳｉ３Ｏ８的玻璃和熔体中的配位和局部结构,并提供了直接的实验证据该成分的玻璃体系中由于压力的变化所诱导Ａｌ配位的     

Medium-range order in cesium borate glasses probed by double-resonance NMR

Rotational-echo double-resonance NMR is used to probe the proximity of Cs+ network modifiers to network-forming boron in binary cesium borate glasses. Low- and high-alkali glasses show distinctly different dephasing curves, which indicate preferential association of Cs+ with four-co-ordinate boron ([4]degrees )B) at low-alkali contents only. Different [4]B sites within a given glass appear to be subject to the same 133Cs dipolar field, thus placing constraints on the possible assignments of multiple tetrahedral boron peaks to different types of medium-range order and guiding future structural modeling studies.     

Structure of alkali borate glasses at high pressure: B and Li K-edge inelastic X-ray scattering study

We report the first in situ boron K-edge inelastic x-ray scattering (IXS) spectra for alkali borate glasses (Li2B4O7) at high pressure up to 30 GPa where pressure-induced coordination transformation from three-coordinated to four-coordinated boron was directly probed. Coordination transformation (reversible upon decompression) begins around 5 GPa and the fraction of four-coordinated boron increases with pressure from about 50% (at 1 atm) to more than 95% (at 30 GPa) with multiple densification mechanisms, evidenced by three distinct pressure ranges for (d[4]B/dP)T. The lithium K-edge IXS spectrum for Li-borate glasses at 5 GPa shows IXS features similar to that at 1 atm, suggesting that the Li environment does not change much with pressure up to 5 GPa. These results provide improved understanding of the structure of low-z glass at high pressure.     

Lateral transport in boron doped SiGe quantum wells

The temperature dependence of lateral conductivity and hole mobility in boron doped Si/SiGe/Si quantum well structures were studied. The conductivity at the temperatures below 20 K is shown to be due to hopping over B centers while at higher temperatures it is due to two-stage excitation consisting of thermal activation of holes from the ground to strain-split B states and the next hole tunneling into the valence band.     

分子动力学模拟不同组分下CaO-Al2O3-SiO2系玻璃微观结构的转变

采用分子动力学模拟的方法研究了CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂系玻璃的微观结构，发现Ca/Al=1/2时CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂系玻璃(网硅酸盐体系)并不像传统理论认为的那样是一个完整的三维网络，而是存在一定量的非桥氧，从而从理论上进一步证实了Stebins等人的实验结果.同时也发现不同的Ca/Al比对Si和Al键接方式产生重要影响，在Ca/Al>1/2时，Al比Si容易成为网络的中间体，其首先插入网络体中间；在Ca/Al<1/2时，Si比Al容易成为网络中间体.虽然在能量上Al—O—Si占有扰势，但当Ca/Al从大于1/2变化到小于1/2时，仍有部分Al—O—Si转变成Al—O—Al和Si—O—Si，丰富了Al自回避规则的内容. 关键词： 2O₃-SiO₂')" href="#">CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ 玻璃 微观结构 分子动力学     

Influence of boron on the low-temperature plasticity and fracture mechanism in the high-temperature synthesis of the intermetallic Ni3Al

We have studied the influence of boron on the plasticity and strength of the intermetallic compound Ni₃Al at stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric compositions, grown by self-propagating high temperature synthesis. We have determined the nature of the fracture and the fraction of brittle intercrystallite and viscous transcrystallite fracture. A correlation is found between the low temperature plasticity and the fraction of transcrystallite fracture. It is shown that the addition of boron, up to its solubility increases the cohesive strength of the grain boundaries in melts at the stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric compositions. In a melt with 25 at. % Al it remains about two times smaller than in a melt with 24 at. % Al.V. D. Kuznetsova Physicotechnical Institute at Tomsk University, Siberia. Institute for the Physics of Strength and Materials Fabrication, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 12, pp. 47–53, December, 1993.     

Effect of pressure on structure of oxide glasses at high pressure: Insights from solid-state NMR of quadrupolar nuclides

Revealing the structure of oxide glasses at high pressure remains a fundamental yet difficult problem in modern physical and chemical sciences. The recent advances in solid-state NMR techniques used for quadrupolar nuclides offer a considerably improved resolution of atomic sites, unveiling previously unknown structural details of oxides glasses at high pressure. Here, we present an overview of the recent progress and insights by high-resolution multi-nuclear triple quantum magic angle spinning (3QMAS) NMR into pressure-induced changes in coordination number, connectivity, and topological disorder in oxide glasses quenched from melts at high pressure. (11)B and (27)Al 3QMAS NMR studies of oxide glasses show that the formation of highly coordinated Al (([5,6])Al) and four coordinated ([4])B are prevalent at high pressure up to 8 GPa. The formation of oxygen clusters linking these highly coordinated framework units and Si (e.g., ([5,6])Al-O-([4])Si, ([5,6])Si-O-([4])Si, and Na-O-([5,6])Si) is observed in the (17)O NMR spectra at higher pressure, leading to an overall increase in the degree of polymerization with pressure. (23)Na MAS NMR spectra of diverse oxide glasses at high pressure and high magnetic field also indicate that the Na-O bond distance may decrease with pressure. Pressure-induced changes in structurally relevant NMR parameters such as the (17)O quadrupolar coupling product (P(q)) for the Si-O-Si cluster and (27)Al P(q) for Al sites in oxide glasses indicate the occurrence of pressure-induced reductions in the Si-O-Si angle and an increase in the Al-O bond length distribution with pressure, indicating an increase in the overall topological disorder in oxide glasses with pressure. All the pressure-induced changes in structure and topology are characterized by strong composition dependence. These experimental results highlight a new opportunity to investigate the molecular structures of silicate melts at high pressure and reveal connections between the microscopic signatures of anomalous and non-linear changes in the macroscopic properties of the corresponding liquids. While many challenges still remain in the synthesis of oxide glasses with wider range of melt composition at higher pressure above 12 GPa, recent progress in enhancement of sensitivity and resolution in the solid state NMR hold strong promise for study exploring additional details of connectivity among quadrupolar nuclides and medium-range order of the more complex, multi-components glasses at high pressure.     

Cluster formulae for metallic glasses derived from devitrification phases

Bulk metallic glasses are known to have a composition formula [cluster](glue atom)_1,3 within the framework of the cluster-plus-glue-atom model. The key issue in applying the cluster formula is the determination of the right clusters and glue atoms. As examples, alloy phases in the glass-forming systems Al–Ni–Zr and B–Co–Si are analysed from the viewpoint of nearest coordination polyhedral clusters. These alloy phases are described by [effective cluster](glue atom) _x , where the effective cluster refers to true cluster composition after taking account of cluster-sharing in the phase structure. For each alloy phase, a principal cluster can be identified that features the local short-range order of that phase. It is pointed out that the principal clusters can express compositions with high glass-forming abilities, as verified by our experiments in Al–Ni–Zr and B–Co–Si–Ta.