Structure and chemical durability of calcium iron phosphate glasses doped with La2O3 and CeO2

Calcium iron phosphate glasses doped with La2O3 and CeO2 have been prepared by the melting method. The structure and chemical resistance of the glasses were analyzed by XRD, FTIR and SEM. The XRD results showed that the glasses after aqueous corrosion were amorphous, while several crystals emerged after the alkali corrosion. FTIR analysis demonstrated an increase in non-bridging oxygen by adding rare earth oxides and the glass network depolymerized from Q(1) to Q(0) with the corrosion. Densities increased with increasing La2O3 and CeO2 content. SEM tests displayed that the smooth glass surface became rough with the corrosion time increasing and some cracks emerged at last. Comparing the values of the weight loss ratios of La-doped and Cedoped glasses, the latter was more corrosion resistant. The least weight loss rate was 10.85% with 2.0 mol% CeO2 addition and the Ce-doped glass had the best alkali resistance in these two series. The addition of La2O3 and CeO2 significantly improved the water and alkali resistance of the glass specimens.