Glasses in the system Li₂O-SnO-B₂O₃ system were prepared by a melt-quenching method. Thermal and viscous properties and local structure of these glasses were investigated. The SnO-B₂O₃ glasses exhibited relatively low glass-transition temperatures (T_g) around 350 °C and excellent thermal stability against crystallization. Viscosity measurements in the vicinity of T_g indicated that the glasses were considerably fragile compared to alkali borate glasses. Fraction of four-coordinated boron was maximized at the composition with 50 mol% SnO and that of nonbridging oxygen, which is not purely ionic in alkali borate systems but partially covalent, augmented with an increase in the SnO content. Correlation between glass properties and structure was discussed in the SnO-B₂O₃ binary system.

Des verres de borates d'étain et de lithium ont été étudiés du point de vue des structures locales, viscosité et propriétés thermiques, révélant que ces verres sont fragiles. Les relations entre propriétés et structures sont discutées.