Temperature dependence of elastic properties in alkali borate binary glasses

The elastic properties of alkali borate glasses, xM2O·(100 − x)B2O3 (M = Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, x = 14, 28), have been investigated by Brillouin scattering spectroscopy from room temperature up to 1100 °C. Above the glass transition temperature, Tg, the longitudinal sound velocity, VL, decreases markedly on heating. Such significant changes of the elastic properties result from the breakdown of the glass network above Tg. Alkali borate family with the same x shows the similar behavior in the temperature variations of VL up to around Tg. The absorption coefficient, αL, increases gradually above Tg. With the increase of the size of an alkali ion, the slope of VL just above Tg decreases. Since the fragility is related to the slope, the present results suggest that the fragility of alkali borate glasses increases as the size of alkali ion decreases. Such an alkali dependence of the fragility is discussed on the basis of the fluctuation of the boron coordination number.