The effect of bismuth oxide substitution on physio-elastic properties of new formulation zinc borate glass system

A new formulation of the bismuth-zinc-borate glass system has been fabricated using the conventional melt-quenching method. The amorphous phase of the glass sample has been confirmed by the nonexistent of any crystalline peak presented by X-ray diffraction patterns. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy result displays several bands associated with the Zn–O and B–O–B bonding. The glass samples exhibited a density increase from 3.19 to 4.28 g/cm³ and the molar volume increased from 23.48 to 31.00 cm³/mol. The density of the glasses increases due to the addition of Bi₂O₃ which has a higher atomic mass compared to the other elements in glass compositions. The addition of Bi₂O₃ contributes more mass to the glass structure, leading to an increase in overall density. The incorporated Bi₂O₃ reduced the longitudinal (6134.41–5121.94 ms⁻¹) and shear (3310.50–2848.15 ms⁻¹) velocities. The elastic moduli resulted in a decreasing behavior when Bi₂O₃ concentration increased, and the values ranged from 120.04 to 112.21 GPa for longitudinal modulus, 34.96–34.69 GPa for shear modulus, 73.43–65.95 GPa for bulk modulus, and 90.52–88.56 GPa for Young’s modulus. The Poisson’s ratio presents the same trend as the modulus, while the microhardness shows an inversely proportional trend. The BiZnB4 sample demonstrates the lowest Poisson’s ratio (0.276) and highest microhardness (5.18 GPa) values. These findings show that the physio-elastic properties are composition-dependent, suggesting potential applications as flexible glass panels for dynamic building glass design.