Structural study of laser host phosphate glasses prepared through novel microwave route

Glasses of (80-x) NaPO3 -20 ZnO - x Nd2O3 system with x = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 mol% have been prepared by energy efficient microwave route. The glasses were characterized by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) techniques. We report physical properties, glass transition (Tg), Vicker's hardness (Hv) and Infrared spectroscopic studies of the investigated glasses within the compositional region 0.1 to 0.7 mol% Nd2O3. Density, molar volume, Tg and Hv exhibit composition dependence. Analysis of IR spectra reveals that Nd2O3 causes structural changes in the glass network, although there is no major shifts in the peak positions, band intensities show composition dependent trends. Density, molar volume, Tg and Hv monotonically increases with Nd2O3 concentration. The observed variation of properties can be well understood by analyzing the modification in the network.