Synthesis and Effect of MgSO4 co-doping on the Optical, IR, and Raman Spectroscopic Studies of Eu3+-Doped Alkaline Silica Borate Glasses Produced with SLS Glass as a Silica Source

Abstract

Two sets of glasses were prepared by rapid melt quench method in the glass system (Eu₂O₃)_x (Na₂O)_0.1 (B₂O₃)_0.6 (SLS)_0.3-x and (Eu₂O₃)_0.01 (Na₂O)_0.1 (B₂O₃)_0.6 (SLS)_0.29-y (MgSO₄)_y with x and y = 0, 0.005, 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05 mol% to check the effect of MgSO₄ inclusion on the glass properties. XRF analysis confirmed the chemical composition of the SLS glass to be 70.81wt% SiO₂. The addition of MgSO₄ to NaSBEu glasses lowered the sample’s density due to the lower density of Mg (1.738 g/cm³), whereas Eu has a density of 5.25 g/cm³. Adding MgSO₄ to NaSBEu glasses raised the band gap values from 3.85 to 3.90 eV and the indirect band gap from 3.22 to 3.23 eV for NaSBEu0.005. The absorption peaks result from the trigonal BO₃ bond's relaxation, which causes asymmetric vibrational stretching of the borate. The primary basis for the network structure of these glass samples is the arrangement of BO₃ and BO₄ units in various structural groupings. The sharpness of the IR absorption peaks increases with the addition of MgSO₄.