Radial Distribution Study of Vitreous Barium Borosilicate

An X-ray diffraction study of a barium borosilicate glass consisting of 24 mole percent barium oxide, 40 mole percent boric oxide, and 36 mole percent silicon dioxide has been performed. Resulting atomic radial distribution functions give the following average interatomic distances: Si-O, 1.6 A; Ba-O, 2.8 A; Ba-Ba, 4.7 A; and Ba-Ba, 6.8 A. From the 4.7 A Ba-Ba separation a Ba-O-Ba bond angle of about 115° has been calculated. The observed average barium separations are in partial agreement with that predicted by Levin and Block on the basis of a structural interpretation of immiscibility data. A proposed coordination change by Levin and Block for the barium atoms in the system has been confirmed, but the details of the coordination change mechanism have not. Combining the results of the radial distribution study and immiscibility data on the barium borosilicate modifier-rich liquid at maximum barium oxide content has indicated that approximately 16.75 mole percent barium oxide is involved in the 4.7 A separation and 8.25 mole percent is associated with the 6.8 A separation. A mechanism which allows the composition of the modifier-rich liquids in the ternary system to be calculated has been presented. The calculated composition has been found to agree well with the experimental value.