Synthesis and Characterization of Cadmium Containing Sodium Borate Glasses

Glass system (80% B2O3 - (20 - y)% Na2CO3 - y% CdO, where y = 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 mol%) prepared by meltquenching technique and checked by XRD technique reveals the amorphous nature of these glasses. Increases in density from 2.18 to 2.82 (g/cm3) were observed with an increase in CdO content. Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-VIS) absorption spectra of polished parallel surfaces glass samples showed a decrease in the optical band gap from 3.72 to 3.59 eV with increasing CdO content. The results suggest that CdO content in glass samples plays a role as a network modifier. In addition, a correlation between the results from density, UV-VIS and FTIR measurements indicates that change in the atomic structure is due to the formation of BO4 units.