Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
The local cation environments in a borosilicate glass (containing the main components of the French nuclear waste glass, R7T7) and of basaltic-like glass are presented on the basis of 17A1 and 23Na Multi-Quanta Magic-Angle Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (MQ-MAS NMR) spectroscopies. The chemical and geometrical environment of each nucleus is characterized. Moreover, qualitative information about the distribution of these parameters, characteristic of the disorder level in the structure, is obtained. These results are presented with the characteristics of the Al and Na dissolution in water at 100°C. The relation between the local environments of these cations and their mass loss in solution is discussed.