The short-range structure of alkali disilicate glasses by pulsed neutron total scattering

Time-of-flight total neutron scattering experiments using pulsed neutrons with short wave-length produced by an electron linear accelerator have been carried out to measure the structure factors of SiO2 and M2O x 2 SiO2 (M = Li, Na and Li0.63Na0.37) glasses over a wide range of the scattering vector up to Q (= 4 π sin THETA/lambda) approx. 480 nm-1. The Placzek correction has been considered up to the second order in the energy transfer. The Fourier transforms of the structure factors yield the pair distribution functions highly resolved in real space, from which the stretching of the Si-O and O-O atomic distances and the number of bridging and non-bridging oxygen atoms in the alkali disilicate glass have been obtained. (orig.)