Microstructure Of Multicomponent Borosilicate Glasses Containing Moo3

Molybdenum oxide (MoO3) is known to be only slightly soluble in borate and borosilicate glasses inducing liquid phase separation in supercooled melts during cooling. The goal of this study is to verify the tendency to immiscibility and crystallization in multicomponent compositions of the system SiO2-BwO3-NaO-ZnO-Nd2O3-MoO3, in which the content of MoO3 varies from 15-18 wt%. The local structural arrangements were studied by IR spectroscopy and isolated MoO4, BO3 and SiO4 units were identified. Microhetereogeneous structures with complex morphologies were identified by SEM. They have been obtained during cooling of the melts at different stages of non-equilibirum phase separation.