Mixed alkali effect in boroarsenate glasses Original Research Article

We report, for the first time the study of mixed alkali effect (MAE) in boroarsenate glasses. Density, DSC, DC electrical conductivity and IR studies have been carried out for xK2O–(40−x)Na2O–50B2O3–10As2O3 glasses. The DC electrical conductivity was measured in the temperature range 100 °C to below the glass transition temperature. The strength of the MAE in Tg, DC electrical conductivity and activation energy has been determined. It is observed that the strength of MAE in DC electrical conductivity is less pronounced with increase in temperature. The results are explained by the structural model recently proposed by Swenson and coworkers, supporting molecular dynamic results. The IR studies show that the glass system contains BO3 and BO4 units in the disordered manner.