A revised method for estimating oxide basicity per the smith scale, with example application to glass durability

Previous researchers have developed correlations between oxide electronegativity and oxide basicity. The present paper revises those correlations using a newer method of calculating electronegativity of the oxygen anion. Basicity is expressed using the Smith α parameter scale. A linear relation was found between the oxide electronegativity and the Smith α parameter, with an R2 of 0.92. An example application of this new correlation to the durability of high-level nuclear waste glass is demonstrated. The durability of waste glass was found to be directly proportional to the quantity and basicity of the oxides of tetrahedrally coordinated network forming ions.

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► A reasonable estimation of the Smith alpha parameter of oxide basicity can be made using the electrongativities.
► The electronegativities are calculated using the method of Porter et al. (2003) and Campet et al. (2004).
► The Smith alpha parameter is correlated to the durability of nuclear waste glass.