Correlation of structural units and chemical stability in SiO2–PbO–Na2O ternary glasses: Spectroscopic methods

Abstract Several compositions in the vitreous SiO 2 –PbO–Na 2 O system, with 12.8–25 mol% PbO and 21–34.6 mol% Na 2 O were prepared by a conventional melt-quenched method. The structure of the obtained glasses was investigated by Infrared (IR), Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) that have underlined the vitreous state of the samples and the differences in the structural units depending both on PbO and Na 2 O content. The structural units present in the glasses were evidenced by bands' deconvolution in the IR and Raman spectra. The structural correlations in this ternary system are a real challenge, as the behavior of the compositions selected in the ternary system is totally different of that of the binary systems PbO–SiO 2 and Na 2 O–SiO 2 . ICP-AES results on the aqueous solutions obtained from the studied glasses have shown different chemical stability in water related with extracted ions. The results could be correlated to the glasses structure, namely to the role played of PbO in the structure.