Study of the mixed alkali effect in lithium and sodium metaphosphate glass-forming liquids by photon correlation spectroscopy

We report results of an extensive study of the structural relaxation occurring in mixed alkali metaphosphate liquids obtained by photon correlation spectroscopy. Values for the glass transition temperature, the fragility index, and the heterogeneity parameter (also known as the Kohlrausch exponent) are extracted from the measurements and are all shown to exhibit a mixed alkali effect wherein nonlinear variations with mixing occur. The depression in the glass transition temperature is shown to be the direct result of mechanical relaxations, present in the solid, which prematurely loosen the glass structure. A minimum in the fragility index is believed to be an artifact of the resulting depression of the glass transition temperature.