Oxygen Bonding in Nitrided Sodium- and Lithium-metaphosphate Glasses

Oxygen bonding in nitrided alkali metaphosphate glasses was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Bridging-to-nonbridging oxygen ratios (BO/NBO) were determined from deconvoluted O1s spectra. As the nitrogen contents of the metaphosphate glasses increased, the BO/NBO ratios decreased. A mechanism based on the equal reactivity of bridging and nonbridging oxygens during the nitridation process is used to explain the observed trends in the oxygen bonding