Physical and FTIR studies of PbO−PbF2−Bi2O3−B2O3−Y2O3 :Er2O3 glasses

II.Experimental Methods The glasses used for the present study are prepared by the melting and quenching techniques [15-17]. The starting materials used for the preparation of the present glasses were analytical grade reagents of PbO, PbF2, H3BO3, Bi2O3, Y2O3 and Er2O3 (METALL, China, 3N pure). The compounds of required compositions were thoroughly mixed in an agate mortar and melted in a platinum crucible. The furnace used was a Proportional + Integral + Derivative (PID) temperature controlled furnace. The glasses were melted at about 900–1000 oC for a 1/2 h till a bubble free liquid was formed. The resultant melt was then poured in a brass mould (containing smooth polished inner surface) and subsequently annealed from 300 oC with a cooling rate of 1ºC/min. The glasses were then ground and optically polished. The approximate final dimensions of the glasses used for characterizing and studying the physical parameters and optical properties are 1 cm x 1 cm x 0.2 cm.   The density (d) of the glasses was determined by the standard principle of Archimedes’ using O-xylene (99.99 % pure) as the buoyant liquid. The mass of the samples was measured to an accuracy of 0.1 mg using Ohaus digital balance Model AR2140. The density of the samples was determined by weighing the bulk glasses in the liquid and in air. From the measured values of density d and calculated average molecular weight, various physical parameters such as rare earth ion concentration Ni, mean ion separation Ri, which are useful for understanding the physical properties of these glasses were evaluated using standard formulae [18, 19]. The refractive index (nd) of the glasses was measured (at  = 589.3 nm) at room temperature using Abbe refractometer (Fig. 2.2) with monobromo naphthalene as the contact layer between the glass and the refractometer prism.             Infrared transmission spectra were recorded on a (Fig. 2.5) with a resolution of 0.1 cm−1 in the spectral range 400–2000 cm−1 using potassium bromide pellets (300 mg) containing pulverized sample (1.5 mg). These pellets were pressed in a vacuum die at ~680MPa. The spectra were recorded on JASCO-FT/IR-5300 spectrophotometer.  

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