Influence of CeO2 addition on the electrical and optical properties of lithium borate glasses

•Glasses prepared by conventional quenching technique.•Conductivity of glasses decreases with the addition of CeO2.•Optical energy band gap (EgOpt) decreases with the addition of CeO2 due to structural changes.•The radiation length of glasses decreases with the addition of CeO2.

The glass series with general formula 15 Li2O–(85−X) B2O3–X CeO2 was prepared using the conventional melt quench technique. The electrical conductivity, the optical properties and the coefficient of thermal expansion were measured for the prepared glasses. The conductivity of the glasses decreases with the addition of CeO2 because the mobility of Li+ ions and the compactness of the glass structure decrease. The density and the refractive index of the glasses increase, whereas the optical band gap and the radiation length decrease because of the structural changes.