Chapter 15
Spectroscopic Characterization
of Silicate Amorphous Materials
Włodzimierz Mozgawa, Maciej Sitarz and Magdalena Król
Abstract In spite of a large amount of the literature on amorphous silicate structure
studies and a significantly long time that has passed since the pioneer works of
Lebiedev, Zachariasen, and Warren, there are still many doubts concerning the
description of their structure. The selection of the correct research method allowing
for a description of glass structure, specifically one that yields information on
short-range order present in the amorphous state, seems to be especially important.
In the framework of this manuscript, vibrational spectroscopy was proposed as a
fundamental research method for describing the amorphous structure of glass
materials. Interpretation procedures were also presented that enable obtaining the
maximum amount of information on glass build on the basis of oscillation spectra.
15.1 Glassy State Theory
Glass is one of the oldest known materials. Until recently (second half of the
twentieth century), it was believed that only certain substances called glass-forming
can be obtained in the amorphous state [1]. However, it is currently accepted that
practically every substance that does not disintegrate at melting temperature can be
obtained in the amorphous form as long as it is strongly cooled down at a sufficiently rapid rate [2]. Thus, the ability to create glassy state is almost a universal
property of matter [3]. The amorphous state is a very particular state of matter that
practically cannot be included in the traditional classification of states: solid
(understood as crystalline), liquid, and gas. Those three physical states differ from
one another mainly due to the degree of order inside the materials in a given state,
i.e., lack of order in the gas state, local order in microareas in the case of liquids,
and complete order (so-called long-range order) in crystalline substances.
W. Mozgawa Á M. Sitarz Á M. Król (&)
Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science
and Technology, 30 Mickiewicza Av., 30-059 Krakow, Poland
e-mail: mkrol@agh.edu.pl
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
A. Koleżyński and M. Król (eds.), Molecular Spectroscopy—Experiment
and Theory, Challenges and Advances in Computational Chemistry
and Physics 26, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01355-4_15
457
Spectroscopic Characterization
of Silicate Amorphous Materials
Włodzimierz Mozgawa, Maciej Sitarz and Magdalena Król
Abstract In spite of a large amount of the literature on amorphous silicate structure
studies and a significantly long time that has passed since the pioneer works of
Lebiedev, Zachariasen, and Warren, there are still many doubts concerning the
description of their structure. The selection of the correct research method allowing
for a description of glass structure, specifically one that yields information on
short-range order present in the amorphous state, seems to be especially important.
In the framework of this manuscript, vibrational spectroscopy was proposed as a
fundamental research method for describing the amorphous structure of glass
materials. Interpretation procedures were also presented that enable obtaining the
maximum amount of information on glass build on the basis of oscillation spectra.
15.1 Glassy State Theory
Glass is one of the oldest known materials. Until recently (second half of the
twentieth century), it was believed that only certain substances called glass-forming
can be obtained in the amorphous state [1]. However, it is currently accepted that
practically every substance that does not disintegrate at melting temperature can be
obtained in the amorphous form as long as it is strongly cooled down at a sufficiently rapid rate [2]. Thus, the ability to create glassy state is almost a universal
property of matter [3]. The amorphous state is a very particular state of matter that
practically cannot be included in the traditional classification of states: solid
(understood as crystalline), liquid, and gas. Those three physical states differ from
one another mainly due to the degree of order inside the materials in a given state,
i.e., lack of order in the gas state, local order in microareas in the case of liquids,
and complete order (so-called long-range order) in crystalline substances.
W. Mozgawa Á M. Sitarz Á M. Król (&)
Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science
and Technology, 30 Mickiewicza Av., 30-059 Krakow, Poland
e-mail: mkrol@agh.edu.pl
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
A. Koleżyński and M. Król (eds.), Molecular Spectroscopy—Experiment
and Theory, Challenges and Advances in Computational Chemistry
and Physics 26, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01355-4_15
457