New Arsenate Glasses

A variety of new ternary arsenate glasses formed from mixtures of ionic alkali-metal meta-arsenates (MAsO₃) with somewhat covalent higher valence metal oxides (MO_x) have been prepared. From rate-of-hydrolysis comparisons, it has been found that bonding in these glasses is enhanced by de-protonization. The latter is enhanced through processing using alkali-metal flourides and increases the number of direct oxygen links between the higher valence metals. Stabilization also tends to increase with the covalent bonding or chain-forming character of the latter metals as well as with the electrostatic binding between alkali-metal ions and the chain linkage oxygens.