Raman spectroscopic investigation of the structure of silicate glasses. I. The binary alkali silicates
- 15 September 1975
- journal article
- Published by AIP Publishing in The Journal of Chemical Physics
- Vol. 63 (6), 2421-2432
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.431671
Abstract
The Raman spectra of some binary alkali silicate glasses and crystals have been measured and the results interpreted. The glasses are of composition M2O⋅xSiO2, 1⩽x⩽4 and M = Li, Na, K. There is a strong resemblance between glassy and crystalline spectra which is consistent with a considerable amount of structural disorder of the glass. The reason is that the disorder acts as a perturbation on the spectrum of an elementary vibrating unit from which the glass is largely constructed. As a result, the general nature of the glass structure may be determined. Furthermore, glasses of the same x but with different alkali have different amounts of short‐range order. This is demonstrated by showing that the widths of certain Raman peaks increase with increasing disorder of the Si–O network of the glass. A strong argument is made against the microcrystallite theory of glass structure. For any composition x, glasses increase in disorder in the direction K → Na → Li. The crystallization rates increase in the same direction, just the opposite of what would be expected on the basis of a microcrystallite theory. Finally, evidence is given for the existence of microscopic concentration fluctuations in presumably single‐phase disilicate glasses.Keywords
This publication has 14 references indexed in Scilit:
- Rayleigh and Brillouin Scattering in K2O–SiO2 GlassesJournal of the American Ceramic Society, 1973
- Infrared Reflectivity and Raman Scattering of Mg2SiO4 Single CrystalPhysica Status Solidi (b), 1973
- Crystal nucleation in lithium silicate glassesDiscussions of the Faraday Society, 1970
- Physical Properties and Structure of Silicate Glasses: I, Additive Relations in Alkali Binary GlassesJournal of the American Ceramic Society, 1969
- Kinetics of Crystallization in Li2O‐SiO2 GlassesJournal of the American Ceramic Society, 1968
- A reinvestigation of the structure of sodium metasilicate, Na2SiO3Acta Crystallographica, 1967
- The ring band of cyclo-silicatesTransactions of the Faraday Society, 1963
- Further Studies of the Crystallization of a Lithium Silicate GlassJournal of the American Ceramic Society, 1962
- Infra-red absorption studies of some silicate structuresTransactions of the Faraday Society, 1961
- THE STRUCTURE OF SILICA GLASS BY X‐RAY DIFFRACTION STUDIES *Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 1938