The structure of vitreous and molten B2O3

Abstract Vitreous and molten boron oxide were studied by in situ high-temperature X-ray diffraction. New insights into the structure were gained by adapting the distance correlation function of a carefully chosen model to the experimental correlation function. In case of vitreous B 2 O 3 a network which is made of the same concentration of boroxol groups as of BO 3 groups proves to be consistent with the diffraction experiment. A quasi-planar network with closed rings of BO 3 groups appears to be an inappropriate model for the structure of molten B 2 O 3 . On the other hand, a network which contains `broken-up' boroxol rings is in agreement with diffraction data.