Enhanced optical and structural features of Ni2+/La3+ hybrid borate glasses

Sarah M Kamil; Ashraf A Abul-Magd; W El-Gammal; H A Saudi

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2021.120569

Enhanced optical and structural features of Ni²⁺/La³⁺ hybrid borate glasses

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2022 Feb 15;267(Pt 2):120569. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2021.120569. Epub 2021 Nov 4.

Authors

Sarah M Kamil¹, Ashraf A Abul-Magd², W El-Gammal³, H A Saudi⁴

Affiliations

¹ National Institute for Standards, Giza, Egypt. Electronic address: sar3y@yahoo.com.
² Basic Science Department, Faculty of Engineering, Sinai University, El-Arish, Egypt.
³ Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority, Cairo, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, (Girls' Branch), Cairo, Egypt.

PMID: 34774432
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2021.120569

Abstract

Glasses with the formula [80B₂O₃-4.0La₂O₃-(16-x) PbO-xNiO, (x ranged from 0.0 to 4.0 mol%)], were produced by the standard quenching method. XRD, SEM and EDAX analysis established the success of the obtained samples preparation. Density measurements and FT-IR analysis confirmed the structural modifications emerging by the entry of Ni²⁺ ions as a network modifier, where the structural unit's ratio of BO₃ (BO₄) was affirmed to increase (decrease) with a gradual rise of NBO's number. The semiconducting behavior of the current glassy samples was verified by the role of the structural modifications in decreasing the gap energy and increasing both Urbach and mineralization criterion. Ligand field analysis applied to the absorption spectra exhibited the covalent nature of the Ni²⁺ bonds. The behavior of electronic polarizability supported the gradual increases of the linear and non-linear refractive index of the samples. These properties qualify the present glasses as an optically active material for the devices operated in the visible-NIR regions.

Keywords: Borate glass; FT-IR measurements; Heavy metal; Ligand field effect; Rare-earth oxide; Transition metal.