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Updated: Mar 15, 2026

Solution-Processed "Silver-Bismuth-Iodine" Ternary Thin Films for Lead-Free Photovoltaic Absorbers
Published on: September 27, 2018
The Combined Effect of Silver Precursor and Sodium Salt on the Structure and Crystallization Behavior of
Baoxing Xiong1,2,3, Ziyi Ge1,2,3, Qiannan Li1,2,3
1School of Optoelectronics Science and Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.
Abstract:
Photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass is a key material for optical devices, yet the synergistic mechanism between its raw material precursors remains unclear. This study systematically investigates the individual and combined effects of silver precursors (Ag2O and AgNO3) and sodium salts (Na2CO3 and NaNO3) on the structural evolution and crystallization behavior of Si-Na-Al-Zn-based PTR glasses. Through a combination of spectroscopic (UV-Vis, FTIR, Raman), thermal (DSC), and microscopic (SEM) characterizations, we demonstrate that the precursor combination profoundly influences the glass network homogeneity, ion mobility, and phase separation behavior. The results reveal that the AgNO3 and NaNO3 combination fosters a highly homogeneous and thermally stable network, facilitating the formation of a uniform distribution of silver nanoparticles and, subsequently, a dense nanoscale precipitation of NaF crystals. This work elucidates the critical synergistic mechanism between precursors, providing a fundamental basis for the precise composition design of high-performance PTR glasses for advanced optical applications.
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