Optical absorption spectra studies for amorphous Cu₂O-Bi₂O₃ glass system

Abstract

Infrared absorption spectra were measured in the spectral range 4000–200 cm⁻¹ for the Cu₂O-Bi₂O₃ glass system. Strong bands were observed around 436–477, 600–632, 700–715, 810–875, 975–1000, 1550–1610 and 3225–3510 cm⁻¹ which are due to harmonics of the Bi-O-Bi stretching vibration, Cu-O stretching vibrations, O-Bi-O stretching vibrations, O-Bi-O bending vibrations, Bi-O stretching vibrations, free H₂O normal-mode bending vibrations and free H₂O molecules or OH⁻ ions, respectively. Quantitative justification of these absorption bands shows that the values of the experimental wave number for most recorded absorption bands agree well with the theoretical ones.

The optical absorption spectra were recorded for the same glass system in the spectral range 300–700 Nm. These records show that the absorption edge has a tail extending towards lower energies. The edge shifts towards lower energies with increasing Cu₂O content. This shift is mostly related to the structural rearrangement and the relative concentrations of the glass basic units. By increasing the Cu₂O content, the optical energy gap decreases, while the width of the localized states increases.