Zinc coordination environment in zinc aluminosilicate (ZAS) glass

A combination of high real-space resolution neutron diffraction and 27Al and 29Si NMR will be used to measure the structure of glassy ZnO-Al2O3-SiO2. The focus will be on cuts across the glass forming region of the ternary phase diagram in which the ZnO:Al2O3 ratio is varied at constant SiO2 content. The strategy is aimed at maximising change to the Zn-O coordination number which can vary from 4 to 6, i.e., Zn has the capability to transform its identity from a network former to a network modifier. The results will provide a complete picture for the inter-dependence of the local Zn, Si and Al coordination environments on composition for a model system in glass engineering.