A systematic survey of experimental and simulated glass formation for the ZrF₄BaF₂NaF system

The glass-forming ability and thermal and volumetric characteristics of ZrF₄BaF₂NaF(ZBN) samples have been examined as a function of composition. It has been found that NaF fractions of up to 50 mol% can be incorporated into the (quenched) glass. Molecular dynamics simulations have been used to analyse the structure of 36 compositions in the ZBN ternary system. The spatial distribution of the cations, and the relative abundances of the different anion bridging modes, can be correlated with the vitreous region of the experimental phase diagram.