Nanoparticles in low melting amorphous selenite materials

The aim of the present investigation is to establish the appropriate route of nanoparticles formation during heat treatment of selected selenite glasses. Multicomponent compositions containing SeO2, V2O5, TeO2, MoO3, ZnO and Ag2O have been selected. Different preparation methods of the initial glass samples have been combined with heat treatment to influence the glass microstructure and formation of different types of microheterogeneites. TEM and SEM have been used to prove the formation of nanosized particles, randomly distributed in the amorphous matrix volume. Samples containing above 50 wt% Ag2O show the formation of elementary silver with an average particle size of 50–100 nm. Glass-ceramic materials have been obtained after a long thermal treatment. The main crystal phases detected are Ag2SeO3, Ag2- TeO3 and TeO2.