Thermal and structural characterization of the vitreous samples in the SiO2 - PbO - Na2O system

Lead-containing glasses have been used from the ancient time. Recently, due to the possible application in optics, electronics, nuclear techniques, wastes inactivation. the interest in these types of glasses has been renewed. For lead waste inactivation, glasses with high amount of PbO in the composition are required, those exhibiting at the same time a high chemical and thermal stability. Thermal behavior of lead-silicate glasses was examined by differential thermal analysis (DTA). Infrared spectroscopy was used to investigate the structure of the glasses. The spectra were interpreted in terms of the structures of silicate group by comparison with the spectra of other silicate crystals. The DTA and infrared data were correlated with the chemical stability tests.