MAS NMR as a probe for investigating the distribution of SiOSi angles in lithium silicate glasses

Magic-angle-spinning NMR has been used to study SiOSi bond-angle distributions associated with various structural elements, Q n , present in lithium silicate glasses of different compositions. It is shown that glasses contain a plurality of structural elements with a broad distribution of SiOSi bond angles, and that the width of the distribution is characteristic of a particular Q n species.