Structural investigation of Bi2O3-P2O5-B2O3-V2O5 quaternary glass system by Raman, FTIR and thermal analysis

A new kind of bismuth borate glasses based on P2O5-V2O5-Bi2O3-B2O3 system is prepared by the modified melt quenching method. The conformation of the amorphous phase in the sample was done through X-ray diffraction analysis. The density, molar volume, oxygen molar volume and oxygen packing density in the glass network were investigated according to the substitution of Bi2O3 by B2O3. The density and the molar volume decreased in parallel with B2O3 content increase. Simultaneously, oxygen molar volume values decreased while the oxygen packing density values increased. It is found that B2O3 is the component that contributes most to increase the thermal stability of the glasses, while Bi2O3 is the most contributing oxide to decrease the thermal stability. The structural origins for the variations of the thermal stability with the glass composition are discussed based on the Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry measurement FTIR spectroscopy reveals that the incorporation of V2O5 in the glass network helps to convert the structural units of [BO3] into [BO4].