Structural role of Cu in the soil active glasses

Glasses from the SiO2-P2O5-K2O-CaO-MgO-CuO system acting as slow release fertilizers were synthesized by the melt-quenching technique. Influence of copper addition on structure of the glasses was evaluated by XRD, SEM, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy. Chemical activity of the glasses in 2 wt.% citric acid solutions was measured by ICP-AES method. It has been found that increasing content of phosphorous increased solubility of copper in the structure of the studied glasses which was the result of formation of P-O-Cu bonds.