Intermediate range order in alkaline borate glasses

We describe the neutron diffraction patterns of a series of alkaline borate glasses at different metal oxide content. Strong differences are observed in the intermediate range order as a function of the specific alkaline ion and of its concentration. On these results, we propose that the first sharp diffraction peak arises from correlations of atoms of voids and show that the compositional variation of this peak intensity in alkaline borate glasses is due to changes in the distribution of void sizes within the three-dimensional network. We argue that our interpretation in terms of interstitial (empty and/or filled) voids, having different sizes, provides a general explanation for all anomalous behaviours revealed for the first sharp diffraction peak.