The structure and properties of SnF2–SnO–P2O5 glasses

• The SnF2–SnO–P2O5 glasses with low glass transition temperature (Tg) were prepared.
• The composition and melting time play an important role on the properties of the glasses.
• The relation between properties and structure of the glasses was studied.

SnF2–SnO–P2O5 glasses with low glass transition temperature (Tg) were prepared in this paper. The effect of composition and melting time on the properties of these glasses was studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated that these prepared samples were glasses regardless of the composition and melting time. The properties of these glasses such as Tg, dilatometric softening temperature (Tf), thermal expansion coefficient (α) and density (ρ) were tested. The structure of these glasses was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The glasses' structure and network dimension were supposed to play a critical role on the properties of the glasses. The fluorine and hydroxyl can decrease the network dimension of the glasses and thus decrease the Tg values. While, the oxidation of Sn2 + to form the Sn4 + could increase the network dimension of glasses and thus increase the Tg values.