Investigation of the Na2O/Ag2O ratio on the synthesis conditions and properties of the 80TeO2–10ZnO–[(10−x)Na2O–xAg2O] glasses

Abstract Properties of the tellurite glasses 80TeO2–10ZnO–[(10−x)Na2O–xAg2O] are investigated as a function of the substitution ratio x between Na2O and Ag2O. One observe that the variation of glass transition temperature decreases monotonously with x and that surface crystallization mechanism is favored. The assignment of the Raman bands and their relation with the underlying glass structure is discussed. While both Na2O and Ag2O oxides act as glass network modifiers, their progressive equimolar substitution does not lead to a meaningful evolution in the structure of the TZ[Na10-xAgx] glass. The refractive index and the cut-off wavelength are found to increase with x. The compositional and wavelength dependence of refractive indices, cut-off wavelength and optical band gap energy is discussed in terms of changes brought about by Na2O/Ag2O substitution in the glass network. Finally, it is shown that interaction between the platinum crucible and the glass melt increases with the silver content in the glass.