Neutron diffraction and 31 P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were used to probe the structure of phosphate glass biomaterials of general composition (CaO) 0.5−x (Na 2 O) x (P 2 O 5 ) 0.5 (x = 0, 0.1 and 0.5). The results suggest that all three glasses have structures based on chains of Q 2 phosphate groups. Clear structural differences are observed between the glasses containing Na 2 O and CaO. The P-O bonds to bridging and non-bridging oxygens are less well resolved in the neutron data from the samples containing CaO, suggesting a change in the nature of the bonding as the field strength of the cation increases Na + → Ca 2+ . In the (CaO) 0.5 (P 2 O 5 ) 0.5 glass most of the Ca 2+ ions are present in isolated CaO x polyhedra whereas in the (Na 2 O) 0.5 (P 2 O 5 ) 0.5 glass the NaO x polyhedra share edges leading to a Na-Na correlation. The results of the structural study are related to the properties of the (CaO) 0.4 (Na 2 O) 0.1 (P 2 O 5 ) 0.5 biomaterial.
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