Spectroscopic properties, electronic polarizability, and optical basicity of Bi2O3–Li2O–B2O3 glasses

Glasses with compositions Li0.5B1.5−2xBi2xO2.5, 0⩽x⩽0.4, have been prepared using the normal melt quenching technique. The density and the molar volume have been determined. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy is used as a structural probe of the nearest neighbor environment in the glass network. The optical transmittance and reflectance spectrum of the glasses have been recorded in the wavelength range 300–1100 nm. The values of the optical band gap Egopt for indirect transition and refractive index have been determined for different compositions of the amorphous glass. The average electronic polarizability of the oxide ion αO2- and the optical basicity have been estimated from the values of calculated refractive indices. The compositional dependence of different physical parameters such as the density, the molar volume, the optical band gap, the refractive index, the average electronic polarizability of the oxide ion, and the optical basicity on Bi2O3 content have been analyzed and discussed.