Raman and FTIR spectra of iron phosphate glasses containing cerium

In the present work, cerium iron phosphate glasses were studied to examine the effect of the CeO 2 composition on the structure of the iron phosphate glasses system. Cerium iron phosphate samples with the compositions, I: xCeO 2 (40 − x)Fe 2O 3 60P 2O 5 and II: xCeO 2 (100 − x)(40Fe 2O 3 60P 2O 5) ( x = 0–30 mol%) have been prepared. The structure of glasses has been studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectrum, Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FT-IR) and differential thermal analysis (DTA), especially focusing on the structure dependence on the CeO 2 content. The glass formation occurs at series I; at series II, the crystalline phases are detected in the samples. The Q 1 groups are the predominant structural units in glasses with the cerium-free and 10 mol% CeO 2 content. With increasing CeO 2 content in glass compositions, the P O P network get extensively depolymerised, resulting in the systematic conversion of Q 1 to Q 2 structural units. The Q 0 units can be detected in the all glasses compositions. The glass transition temperature ( T g) linearly increase with the addition of CeO 2 content, indicating an increase in thermal stability tendency with increasing CeO 2 content. The change of T g is consistent with structural modification of glass.