Effect of samarium oxide on the structural and ligand field parameters of iron cations inside sodium borate glass

In this work, we prepared sodium borate glass doped with different amounts of iron (Fe2O3) and samarium oxides (Sm2O3). The effects of replacing Fe2O3 with Sm2O3 on the transparency, ligand field parameters, and structural properties were studied using different techniques such as FTIR, density, optical absorbance and optical transmittance. Further, we explored the effect of sunlight on the optical transmittance at 90 min of irradiation time. Our results showed that, with further additions of Sm2O3, the BO4 units, density values increased, and ligand field splitting increased. In contrast, molar volume values decreased. The transparency of the glass specimens showed increased behavior with further Sm2O3 additives. Moreover, the transmittance of the glass samples showed decreasing values with exposure to sunlight. This behavior was attributed to the creation of structural defects inside the glasses with further sunlight irradiation. Moreover, the percent of change in optical transmittance for all glass samples is insignificant (<10%). This small percentage of change in optical transmittance shows that the glasses are stable when exposed to sunlight. Further, these results make them potential candidates to be used in photovoltaic modules.