Physical, thermal, infrared and optical properties of Nd3+ doped lithium-lead-germanate glasses

The structure-property relationships of neodymium doped lithium-lead-germanate glasses were investigated. The density was found to increase with the increase of Nd2O3 concentration and its variation is explained in terms of its molecular mass, structural transformation and packing density. Addition of modifier oxide to lead-germanate glass suggests a decreased free space within the glass matrix, resulting in the formation of stiff network. The increase in glass transition temperature specifies strengthening of glass by forming bridging oxygens. The optical properties of glass were measured employing UV-visible spectroscopy. The refractive index values varied nonlinearly with Nd2O3 concentration and were speculated to depend on the electronic polarizability of oxide glasses. The frequencies of the infrared absorption bands were affected marginally and the absorption peaks revealed that the glass matrix consists of [GeO4/2], [GeO6/2] and [PbO4/2] structural units. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved