FTIR and Raman spectroscopic study of sodium aluminophosphate and sodium aluminum-iron phosphate glasses containing uranium oxides

•Uranium oxides offer destructive effect on aluminum-(iron) phosphate glass network.•At high uranium oxide contents in glasses uranium is present as U(V) and U(VI).•The U-containing structural units and polyanions are typical of the glasses with low and high UOx contents.

The effect of uranium oxides on the structure of sodium aluminophosphate and aluminum iron-phosphate glasses was investigated by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Introduction of low concentrations of UO2 and UO3 offers minor effect on the structure of both iron free and iron bearing glasses while incorporation of high content of UO3 markedly changes their structure reducing degree of connectedness of the glass network. Uranium in glasses produced with uranyl nitrate is present as U(VI) and U(V) which are responsible for the bands at ~ 200 cm− 1, ~ 470 cm− 1, ~ 540 cm− 1, 815–820 cm− 1, 887–895 cm− 1, and 944–946 cm− 1 due to vibrations of uranium-oxygen bonds in UO2+/2+ ions.