Structural and other physical properties of lithium doped bismuth zinc vanadate semiconducting glassy system

• Glass transition and crystallization temperature decreases with increase in Li2O.
• VO5 structural units are converting into VO4 tetrahedral units.
• Bi2O3 is present in both BiO6 octahedral and BiO3 pyramidal units.

Glass samples with compositions xLi2O. (100 − x) (50V2O5·20 Bi2O3·30 ZnO) have been prepared by standard melt quench technique. The amorphous nature of the glass samples has been ascertained by X-ray diffraction. It is found that density, molar volume (Vm), crystalline volume (Vc) and the difference (Vm − Vc) of the studied glass samples decreases with increase in Li2O content. The glass transition temperature (Tg), crystallization temperature (Tc) and the difference (Tc − Tg) also decreases with increase in Li2O content, indicating that stability and glass formation tendency decreases. Raman and IR studies reveal that on addition of Li2O, VO5 structural units are converting into VO4 tetrahedral units and Bi2O3 is present in both BiO6 octahedral and BiO3 pyramidal units with BiOBi, BiOV and BiOZn linkages.