Structural study of chemically durable BaO-FeOx-P2O5 glasses by Mössbauer spectroscopy and high performance liquid chromatography

•Structure-corrosion resistance relationship of Ba-iron phosphate glasses is studied.•HPLC and Mössbauer spectrometry were used to characterize the phosphate anions.•The fractions and coordination environments of Fe2 + and Fe3 + ions was determined.•The most durable glass presented independence of the relative BaO and Fe2O3 contents.

The relationships between the structure and corrosion resistance of glasses with the nominal compositions xBaO-(100 − x)[yFe2O3-(1 − y)P2O5], where x = 0, 10, 20, and y = 30, 35, 40, are discussed. High performance liquid chromatography was used to characterize the phosphate anions that constitute the glass structure, and Mössbauer spectrometry was used to characterize the fractions and coordination environments of Fe2 + and Fe3 + ions in the glasses. Weight loss measurements in water were recorded and the most durable glasses were those with the smallest average phosphate anion sizes, independent of the relative BaO and Fe2O3 contents.