Abstract
Antimony doped sodium zinc borate glasses of composition [(65-x) B2O3-10ZnO-25Na2O-xSb2O4] (where x = 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 in mol%) were prepared by using the conventional melt quenching technique. The characterization of the samples was done by X-ray diffraction. XRD pattern revealed the amorphous nature of the prepared samples. Various physical and optical parameters such as density, molar volume, oxygen molar volume, oxygen packing density, optical bandgap energy and Urbach energy were evaluated. The opposite trend between density and molar volume as well as the opposite behaviour between oxygen molar volume and oxygen backing density revealed that the glass samples become less open. FTIR spectra have been investigated at room temperature and used to estimate N4 ratio and its dependent on composition. FTIR analysis showed that antimony oxide acts as a modifier in the borate glass doped with ZnO and Na2O. The observed data clearly suggests that the investigated glass samples may be used for optical limiting applications.