Structure and optical properties of glasses from Li2O–Bi2O3–PbO system

The results of structural studies of the glasses from Li2O–Bi2O3–PbO system were presented. Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were applied to determine main structural unites and chemical composition of near-surface region. Glasses from the studied system are build up with lead in tetrahedral coordination and bismuth in octahedral coordination. Structural role of lithium relies on compensation of the electric charge and on separation of lead-reach and bismuth-reach regions preventing crystallization of the glasses. It was shown that the lithium is not present in near-surface regions. The thermal stability of the glasses was determined from DTA measurements. Optical properties in UV–vis region were also presented.