Abstract
This work has been set up to estimate how the structural, and optical properties of the copper sodium borate-based glass change when the low bandgap oxide Cu2O3 is replaced by the one of the highest bandgap of Fe2O3. Where the value of the optical band gap of Cu2O3 (1.25-1.33 eV) is one half that of Fe2O3 (2.2 eV), approximately. Using the traditional fast quenching method, three categories of solid samples have been obtained, copper-free (one sample), iron-free (one sample), and copper-iron-doped (three samples). X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopes (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis.) spectra have been used for structural and optical characterization. XED exhibited an amorphous nature for all the prepared samples, while the FTIR showed an increase in the number of the nonbridging oxygen atoms as a result of conversion from BO4 into BO3. Also, FTIR showed that Fe- cations occupied the interstitial spaces as FeO6. The Photoluminescence PL emission showed two emission peaks due to Fe2+, 3+ and Cu2+, 3+ multi-valence cations. The metallization factor, bulk density, and the optical band gaps increased when Cu2O3 was replaced by Fe2O3, with an increase in the values of the molar volume and the linear refractive index. Shielding parameter Zeff referred that the Fe-Free sample is more suitable for shielding applications than the Cu-Free sample, at low energies.