High-temperature UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy of chromium-doped glasses

Abstract

Chromium-doped glasses with the basic composition (in mol%) 16 Na2O · 10 CaO · 74 SiO2 were melted under different redox conditions. From these glasses, UV-VIS-NIR absorption spectra were recorded at temperatures up to 1200 °C. While the intensity of the peak attributed to Cr6+ decreases, some of the peaks caused by Cr3+ increase in intensity at higher temperature. All peaks are slightly shifted to larger wavelengths and get broader with increasing temperature. Glasses melted under oxidizing conditions were slowly cooled as well as quenched. Using EPR spectroscopy, in the quenched sample, Cr5+ was detected in a larger concentration than in the slowly cooled sample. Otherwise, the Cr6+ concentration was larger in the slowly cooled sample. This is explained by a redox reaction, i.e. a disproportionation of Cr5+ to Cr6+ and Cr3+ during cooling. As shown by high-temperature spectroscopy of the quenched sample, this redox reaction is frozen in below 550 °C.