Structural differences between the glass state and ion implanted layers on lead pyrophosphate

This paper reports on amorphous lead pyrophosphates (Pb2P2O7) which were prepared by quenching the molten phosphate to produce a glass, by implanting either O2+ or Pb3+ ions into lead pyrophosphate single crystals, or by implanting O2+ ions into lead pyrophosphate glass. The structures of the amorphous phases were determined using the technique of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) which measured the distribution of phosphate anions (i.e., the number and length of PO4 tetrahedral chains). For all implant doses (ranging from 1011 to 1014 ions/cm2) the structure of the amorphous layer was significantly different than the structure of lead pyrophosphate glass prepared via thermal quenching. The structure of the amorphous phase produced by ion-implantation was, however, essentially independent of the implanted species