High Temperature Brillouin Scattering of Potassium Borate Glasses
High temperature elastic properties of potassium borate glasses, xK2O(100-x)B2O3 (x=4, 10, 14, 20, 28, and 34 mol %), have been investigated between 20 and 1100 °C by Brillouin scattering. Longitudinal sound velocity of the glasses changes only slightly up to the glass transition temperature (Tg), and, with further heating above Tg, it decreases markedly. This sudden decrease in sound velocity is caused by structural rearrangements that make glass networks soft above Tg. With an increase in K2O composition, the slope of sound velocity just above Tg increases. The composition dependence of the fragility of potassium borate glass is suggested on the basis of the slope. The activation energy of the relaxation process of 28K2O72B2O3 measured by Brillouin scattering is estimated to be 6.84 kcal/mol, which is comparable to the energy of formation of a boroxol ring structure in a liquid phase.