Effect of B₂O₃ on Structure of CaO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–TiO₂–B₂O₃ Glassy Systems

Abstract

Titanium-bearing blast furnace slag is an important metallurgical waste, but presently, it is difficult for it to be effectively utilized. B₂O₃ is an important modifier to greatly promote the mass diffusion of crystallization of Ti-enriched phases in molten slags. To furtherly understand the effect of B₂O₃ on the structure of Ti-bearing slag, CaO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–TiO₂–B₂O₃ glasses of various B₂O₃ were investigated by combining Raman, FT-IR, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results showed that BO₃ was the dominant structure, which decreased slightly as the B₂O₃ content increased, while BO₄ increased. Three coordination forms (TiO₄, TiO₅, and TiO₆) of the Ti-structure were discovered in the prepared Ti-bearing glasses. The percentage of TiO₄ gradually increased and became the main structural unit as the increased B₂O₃. The increase of BO₄ and TiO₄ leaded to an increased amount of network connection units, such as SiO₄, to increase the degree of polymerization of the prepared Ti-bearing glasses.