Structural investigations on some cadmium-borotellurate glasses using ultrasonic, FT-IR and X-ray techniques

Highlights: • 50B₂O₃–(50 – x)TeO₂–xCdO glass system has been prepared by melt quenching technique. • Both sound velocities decrease with increase in x. • Studies on the structure of these glasses, have revealed that Cd²⁺ ions are incorporated in the form of CdO₆. - Abstract: Glasses in the system 50B₂O₃–(50 − x)TeO₂–xCdO with different CdO contents (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mol%), have been prepared by melt quenching technique. Elastic properties, X-ray and FT-IR spectroscopic studies have been employed to study the role of CdO on the structure of the investigated glass system. Elastic properties and Debye temperature have been investigated using sound wave velocity measurements at 4 MHz at room temperature. The results showed that the density increase and the molar volume decrease while both sound velocities decrease with increase in x. Elastic properties, FT-IR and X-ray diffraction studies on the network structure of these glass structures, have revealed that Cd²⁺ ions are incorporated in the form of CdO₆, decreasing the molar volume and compensate for the decrease in the average coordination number of tellurium atoms which was the reason for the increase in elastic moduli