A basic insight on structural modification of manganese oxide nanoparticles included borotellurite glass with europium impurities Siti Maisarah Aziz, M.R. Sahar ⁎, S.K. Ghoshal Advanced Optical Material Research Group, Department of Physics, Faculty Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia abstract article info Article history: Received 26 July 2016 Received in revised form 28 September 2016 Accepted 26 October 2016 Available online xxxx This paper reports the Manganese oxide nanoparticles (Mn 3 O 4 NPs) concentration dependent structural modifi- cation of europium (Eu 3+ ) doped borotellurite glass. Series of glass samples with chemical composition (59- x)TeO 2 -30B 2 O 3 -10MgO-1Eu 2 O 3 -xMn 3 O 4 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 2.0 mol%) are synthesized using melt quenching method. Pre- pared samples are thoroughly characterized using various spectroscopic and imaging techniques. XRD pattern confirmed the samples amorphous phase and DTA results verified their thermal stability. Glass containing 1.0 mol% of NPs exhibited highest thermal stability. Influence of NPs contents on the physical properties including density, molar volume, ionic packing density, optical basicity, bonding parameters and oxygen packing density are evaluated. Mn 3 O 4 NPs revealed two surface plasmon resonance bands positioned at 388 nm and 516 nm. FTIR and Raman spectra displayed NPs assisted alteration in the Te \\ O \\ Te, BO 3 , BO 4 , TeO 3 trigonal pyramidal and TeO 4 trigonal bipyramidal bonding vibrations. TEM image manifested the nucleation of NPs with mean diam- eter ~15 ± 1 nm. HRTEM data authenticated the growth of such NPs along (103) lattice plane having 0.276 nm spacing. The Mn 3 O 4 NPs mediated modification in the overall structural properties is explained in terms of sym- metry, generation of non-bridging oxygen atoms and effects of covalency. This new glass composition may gen- erate renewed interests towards the development of functional glass useful for magneto-optic applications. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Nanoparticles Surface plasmon Non-bridging oxygens Raman spectra 1. Introduction Tellurite glasses are interesting due to their unique properties such as high refractive index, low melting temperature, wide transmittance, corrosion resistance and good mechanical strength [1–3]. Tellurite based glasses draw much scientific and technological attention especial- ly in optical fibre and non-linear devices. Conversely, borate based glasses are prospective due to their flexible random network structure consisting of tetrahedral BO 4 and trigonal boron BO 3 units [4] useful for excessive impurities intake. The addition of modifier into the borate glass causes the conversion of BO 3 units into BO 4 units vice-versa also called the boron anomaly effect [5]. Besides, the excellent rare earth sol- ubility, good infrared transmission and high thermal stability of borate glasses are attractive for the development new optical devices [6]. How- ever, the strong hygroscopic nature of borate glasses limits their appli- cations [7] unless inhibited. This drawback can be surmounted by stabilizing the borate network with TeO 2 incorporation, which may offer improved chemical durability via the structural modifications of tetrahedral boron networks [3]. Generally, the combined B 2 O 3 and TeO 2 glass system produce good optical properties. Interestingly, the phase diagram of binary borotellurite (BT) system is comprised of two phases. First one with high concentration of TeO 2 makes transparent glass and the second one having higher B 2 O 3 concentration produce opaque glass accompa- nied by complicated micro-heterogeneous network [8]. Moreover, the incorporation of MgO in borate glasses strongly influences the B \\ O and Te \\ O co-ordination, providing an- opportunity to achieve tailored glass properties. Modifier MgO is widely used in tellurite glass systems as good chemical stabilizer [9]. It can remarkably change the glass net- work structures [10]. Currently, the development of multifunctional magnetic NPs is in full swing [11] due to the feasibility of sundry appli- cations. The appearance of super-paramagnetic behaviour, softness and large surface area of manganese nanoparticles make them potential magnetic materials [12] like manganese zinc ferrites [13], useful for high density magnetic storage devices [14]. Mn 3 O 4 being one of the most stable oxides of manganese possesses numerous attainable oxida- tion states. Several researches using various synthesis techniques have demonstrated the presence of Mn 4+ ions in Mn 3 O 4 nanostructures [15]. Despite much research the impact of Mn 3 O 4 NPs on the structural properties of Eu 3+ doped BT glass system is not explored. The embed- ment of such NPs is expected to improve the network structure and hence the structural stability of the glass. Thus, we prepare a new series of Eu 3+ doped BT glass samples and evaluate the Mn 3 O 4 NPs concentra- tion dependent structural properties. Synthesized glasses are character- ized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA), Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids xxx (2016) xxx–xxx ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: mrahim057@gmail.com (M.R. Sahar). NOC-18069; No of Pages 7 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2016.10.040 0022-3093/© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jnoncrysol Please cite this article as: S.M. Aziz, et al., A basic insight on structural modification of manganese oxide nanoparticles included borotellurite glass with europium impurities, J. Non-Cryst. Solids (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2016.10.040