Effect of B 2 O 3 content on the structural and optical properties of (Ba 0.85 Ca 0.15 ) (Ti 0.9 Zr 0.1 )O 3 glass

This study explores the structural and optical properties of (Ba0.85Ca0.15) (Ti0.9Zr0.1)O3 system mixed with B2O3. The samples with the composition xB2O3 + (100-x) (Ba0.85Ca0.15) (Ti0.9Zr0.1)O3 (where x = 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 mol. %) were prepared using the melting quenching technique to form borate-based glass containing BaO, CaO, ZrO2 and TiO2 (BBCZT). X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the amorphous nature of the prepared samples. The macroscopic structure of the glasses was assessed from the density measurements determined through Archimedes' principle, while information regarding the atomic structural units and vibrational modes were obtained from Infrared measurements. Increasing the B2O3 content led to variation of the relative intensity of these modes together with a decrease (increase) in density (molar volume), indicating a less dense and open-structure for the glass network. The absorption spectra showed absorption bands associated with the optical transitions 2B2g -> 2B1g and 2B2g -> 2A1g of Ti3+ ions occupying distortion octahedral sites (Ti3+ ) in the glass matrix. The ligand field strength (10Dq), optical energy gap (Eopt), Urbach's energy (Delta E), and nonlinear optical properties (NLO) were calculated in the study.