Measurements of spin-lattice relaxation times, T1, in Na2O-MgO-SiO2 glasses doped with MnO.

Silicate glasses without paramagnetic components show 29Si relaxation times, T1, in the order of minutes. Because of these T1 values, unacceptably long instrument times are needed to obtain satisfactory' signal-to-noise ratios. Therefore, all samples were doped with MnO when microstructures of electrode glasses were investigated. Small amounts of paramagnetic ions in the glass reduce the relaxation time but do not affect the electrode properties. In any case when the distribution of manganese ions is homogeneous, the relaxation rates are proportional to the MnO content. The spin-lattice relaxation times of the different Qn species are similar within error limits. The best spectra were obtained using 0.1 mol% MnO.