Studying the Structural Features of Oxide Nanoclusters of Cerium and Titanium in a Silicate Glass by Means of the Small-Angle Neutron Scattering

The features of the formation of Ce-Ti-O complex oxide nanoclusters in a silicate glass are studied by means of the small-angle neutron scattering technique. It is found that bounded regions of density fluctuation of the glass material are formed in the initial glass matrix without the addition of titanium and cerium oxides. These regions could serve as nucleation centers for oxide clusters of cerium and titanium upon their introduction into the matrix. The calculated average size of these inhomogeneities does not exceed 30 +/- 1 nm, and their surface volume equals 0.72 perpendicular to 3 nm(3). A structural mechanism for Ce-Ti-O oxide formation in a silicate glass, in which the nanoclusters are formed within a bounded region of glass material inhomogeneities at low concentrations of the initial cerium oxide (CeO2), is proposed. At high cerium oxide concentrations, oxide nanocluster growth occurs predominantly on the surface of these inhomogeneities. This leads to a sharp change in the nanocluster sizes and their fractal dimension.