Investigation of mechanical and chemical durability properties of oxide modifiers incorporated tellurite glass: Ternary oxide glass

Commonly believed, glass is more chemically durable than the majority of other materials. However, corrosion occurs when a glass piece is exposed to a liquid solution. This study investigates the durability and mechanical properties of zinc tellurite glasses as a function of their chemical composition for different oxide modifiers (Na₂O, B₂O₃, CaO, and P₂O₅). Glasses systems based on 60TeO₂-30ZnO-10Na₂O (TZN), 75TeO₂-10ZnO-15 B₂O₃ (TZB), 70TeO₂-10ZnO-20CaO (TZC) and 75TeO₂-15ZnO-10P₂O₅ (TZP) reported here were prepared by melt-quenching technique. The amorphous nature of the prepared glasses is tested using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The glasses' hardness (HV) and tensile strength were examined by microhardness Vickers's indentation. Phosphate as an oxide modifier content significantly impacts the glass's hardness, TZP glass possesses the highest hardness, 698.7 HV. The chemical durability of the glass was performed by immersing it in a sulfuric acid solution with a pH of 2 for 15 days. Microstructural characterization was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to study the morphology and structural changes of the glass samples. The attractive characteristics of chemical stability and enhanced mechanical properties suggest that the TZP glass can be designated as a suitable host for long-life optoelectronic applications that perform well in various environments.