Density and Molar Volume

Collage of Engineering Third Class
Materials Department Lecture (12)
GLASS
Asst. Lect. Shireen Hasan
Lecture of Glass Assistant lecturer Shireen 2018/2019
6-2 Density and molar volume

The density ρ is the mass per unit volume (g/cm3). If sample is free of bubbles,
voids, or other defects, the calculated density is the true density of the material. If
sample contains bubbles, which is occasionally the case for glasses, the calculated
density will be less than that of the true density and is termed the apparent density.
The molar volume is defined as the volume occupied by one mole of a material and is
obtained by dividing the molecular weight of a material by its density:
Vm =
Where Vm is the molar volume, MWt is the molecular weight of substance, and
ρ is the true density of that substance. The molecular weight of a (25 Na 2O-75SiO2)
glass is equal to the sum of 0.25 times the molecular weight of Na 2O plus 0.75 times
the molecular weight of SiO2. If we use molecular weight of 61.981 for Na2O and
60.084 for silica, we obtain a molecular weight of 60.558 for this glass. Using a
measured density of 2.434 g.cm-3, we find that the molar volume of this glass is 24.88
cm3 per mole. The density of a glass is a strong function of its composition.
Crystallization of a glass can significantly alter the density, if the density of the
crystalline phase is very different from that the residual glass. Densities of the
common glass forming oxides are less than those of the corresponding crystalline
forms of these compounds. If we calculate the free volume, V f of the glass using the
simple relationship:
Vf = 1-
Where Vx is the molar volume of the crystalline oxide form and Vg is the molar
volume of the glass form, an obtained value of 0.27 or 27 %, for vitreous silica. This
large free volume implies that the glass has a very large fraction of interstitial space
within the network for accommodation of other ions such as the monovalent alkali
ions and the divalent alkaline earth ions.
If the networks formed by the primary glass forming oxides contain a large
number of empty interstices, it must be possible to stuff a correspondingly large
number of modifier ions into these interstices. Such a process would increase the mass
of a substance without increasing its bulk volume, resulting in an increase in density.
The addition of alkali ions to any of the common glass forming oxides results in an
increase in density .even Li2O, which has only half the molecular weight of silica,
increases the density of silicate, borate, or germanate glasses when substituted for the
basic glass forming oxide. Shown in figure 17.
Figure (17) effect of composition on the density of alkali germanate glass
Glasses containing lithium are often more dense than those containing sodium
or potassium. If potassium ion weights about 6 times as much as a lithium ion and
both simply occupy interstices in an existing network.
The molar volumes in every case increase in order Li < Na < K < Rb< Cs.
Additions of lithium or sodium to the network reduce the molar volume, implying that
they cause shrinkage of the network. Potassium, rubidium, and cesium, on the other
hand, increase the molar volume of glasses, implying that they force an increase in the
volume of the structure. See in figure 18.
Figure 18 effect of composition on the molar volume of alkali gremanate glass.
What happen when a melt of glass cooled to room temperature? at very high
temperature , where the melt is fluid, the melt consists of a mixture of modifier ions
and various structural units of the network, which may be as small as the basic
building block of the network, or which may consist of a few of these building blocks
connected to form small discrete ions. At cooling, the network begins to form as the
structural units become connected. If no alkali or other modifier ions where present,
the network could form without hindrance from these ions. When modifier ions are
present, the network must form around these ions. If the modifier ions are larger than
the interstices which would form in their absence, the network will now contain a
number of interstices which are larger than those of the modifier free structure. If the
modifier ions are smaller, their attraction to the oxygen ions can lead to a decrease in
size of the interstices.in the other world, the modifier ions are not simply filler for
predetermined interstices, but modify the interstices formed, the relatively high
mobility of the modifier ions on the time scale of network relaxation as the melt
approaches the transformation range allows each modifier ion to influence the size of
several interstices. As a result, large ions such as cesium may increase the free volume
of the network, while small, higher field strength ions such as lithium can decrease the
free volume.
The interstices in glass act as sieves through which mass can move. Thus, in
glasses, conduction of charge occurs predominantly by those ions that can move
through the interstices. Network modifying ions, particularly the alkali ions, invariably
carry the bulk of the charge conduction. Therefore, properties that depend upon
motion of ions through the interstices would clearly be enhanced by how open the
glass structure is.
Thus , the migration of an inert gas atom such as He is expected to be much

faster through silica glass than through a soda lime silicate, because the network
modifying cation Na+ and Ca+ act to block the available pathways in the silica
structure. A larger cation in the interstice plays a more effective blocking role than a
smaller modifying cation. In fact, the thermally activated properties that depend upon
an atomic/ ionic jump from one site to another should display a distribution of
activation energies, because the separation distance of the sites in glass is distributed.
Due to the open structure of glasses, application of an outside pressure drives the
individual smaller structure units to rearrange in such a way that a better filling of
space occurs with a higher density. This is accompanied by a decrease of the average
Si-O-Si angle of silica glass.

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Collage of Engineering Third Class

Materials Department Lecture (12)

6-2 Density and molar volume

Figure (17) effect of composition on the density of alkali germanate glass

Figure 18 effect of composition on the molar volume of alkali gremanate glass.

Thus , the migration of an inert gas atom such as He is expected to be much

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