Abstract
Er3+-doped soda-lime silicate glasses of the composition (in mol%) (65-x)SiO2:25Na2O:10CaO:xEr2O3 (where x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) were fabricated by conventional melt quenching technique. The physical and optical properties were measured and investigated. The erbium oxide enters the glass network as a modifier by occupying the interstitial space in the network and generating the NBOs to the structure. The molar volume increases with an increase in Er2O3 content, which is attributed to the increase in the number of Non-Bridging Oxygen (NBOs). The increase of NBOs in the structure generally leads to an increase in average atomic separation. The density, molar volume and refractive index of glasses increased linearly with increasing Er2O3 concentration. The color of glasses was changed from light pink to intense pink as the Er2O3 concentration was increased from 1 to 5 mol%. The Vickers hardness of Er3+-doped glasses was found to be in the range of 450-500 HV. In this study, it can be concluded that the soda-lime silicate glasses doped with high Er2O3 concentration has intense pink color and high value of hardness which is suitable to be cut as gems.
Highlights
A gemstone is a piece of attractive mineral which is used to make jewelry or other adornments
The density, molar volume and refractive index increase with additional content of Er2O3 due to the Er2O3 into the network which is attributed to the increase in the number of Non-Bridging Oxygen (NBOs)
The increase in Vm indicates that the volume of NonBridging Oxygen (NBOs) sites produced by the Er2O3 is greater than those produced by alkaline oxides
Summary
A gemstone is a piece of attractive mineral which is used to make jewelry or other adornments. Color is the most obvious and attractive feature of gemstones. Some treatments are widely used because the resulting color is stable, while others are not well accepted because the gem color is unstable and may revert to the original tone (Nassau, 1994). Various pink gemstones include rose quartz, pink sapphire, pink topaz, morganite (pink beryl), Kunzite, pink tourmaline and pink opal (Cipriani and Borelli, 1986). Some pink gemstones such as morganite is very pale pink color and Kunzite can be found in pale pink to lavender-pink color shade. The price of these gemstones is much cheaper as compared to pink sapphire. We were ignited to find the new method for fabrication of artificial pink gemstone that is not expensive but color is gorgeous, vivid, clarity and stability
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