Influence of Y2O3 on the structure and properties of calcium magnesium aluminosilicate glasses

Glasses were prepared whose composition is defined by the formula: 25CaO20MgOxY2O3(9–x) Al2O346SiO2 mol.% (0 ⩽ x ⩾ 3). To investigate the relation between the structural change and compositional variation by introducing Y2O3 instead of Al2O3, the glasses were analyzed by Fourier transform Infrared (FT-IR) analysis and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The density, molar volume, hardness and the chemical durability were measured and calculated. The FTIR spectra were recorded in the spectral range from 400 to 4000 cm−1 and showed significant depolymerization of silicate groups and hence resulting in a net decrease of local symmetry. Introducing yttrium in the glasses increases both glass transition (Tg) and softening (Ts) temperatures. The obtained Vicker’s microhardness, the density values and the chemical stability data were increased by addition Y2O3 instead of Al2O3 in the glasses. The resulting data were greatly correlated to the role played by the cations present in the glass structure.