The effect of Fe2O3 addition on the electrical Conductivity and optical absorption of lithium borosilicate glasses has been studied. It has been observed that, with addition of Fe2O3, the electrical conductivity decreases. This has been attributed to the increase in the tetrahedral network of the glasses at the cost of NBOs, which in turn decreases the mobility of lithium ions. The increase in tetrahedral network strengthens the glass which is supported by the observed increase in the density with Fe2O3 addition. This is also supported by the increase in refractive index observed. The optical absorption results show the peaks corresponding to Fe3+ which is more likely to favor the tetrahedral arrangement than octahedral one. Thus there is a nice correlation obtained among the electrical conductivity and optical properties in the present work.
Electronic conductivity, Density, Optical absorption, Refractive Index
